Processes for the preparation of paclitaxel

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides processes for the production of paclitaxel. Paclitaxel is produced by protecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB with a bridging silicon-based protecting group. The resulting 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative is then derivatized and deprotected to form paclitaxel.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/689,425, filed on Jun. 10, 2005; U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/708,929, filed on Aug. 17, 2005; U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/708,931, filed on Aug. 17, 2005; U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/724,527, filed on Oct. 7, 2005; and U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/788,943, filed on Apr. 4, 2006.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to processes for preparing paclitaxel. More specifically, the present invention relates to processes for the preparation of paclitaxel including the protection of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) using a bridging silicon-based protecting group.

10-DAB (1), which is extracted from the needles of the English yew (taxus baccata L.) is a key starting material in the production of taxol (also known as paclitaxel) and docetaxel (Taxotere®), both of which are potent anticancer agents.

Conversion of 10-DAB to a cytotoxically active taxane requires selective derivatization of the C(13) hydroxy group to form a C(13) ester side chain. Because 10-DAB is a polyol and because each of these hydroxy groups is not equally reactive under a defined set of conditions, preparation of taxol or docetaxel from 10-DAB typically requires selective protection and/or derivatization of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups before the C(13) side chain is attached.

Early strategies for the preparation of taxol, docetaxel and other taxanes from 10-DAB were based on the observation of Senilh et al. (C.R. Acad. Sci. Paris, IT, 1981, 293, 501) that the relative reactivity of the four hydroxy groups of 10-DAB toward acetic anhydride in pyridine is C(7)-OH>C(10)-OH>C(13)-OH>C(1)-OH. Denis et al. reported (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1988, 110, 5917) selective silylation of the C(7) hydroxy group of 10-DAB with triethylsilyl chloride in pyridine to give 7-triethylsilyl-10-deacetyl baccatin (III) in 85% yield.

More recently, Holton et al. disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,191,287 that the relative reactivity toward acetic anhydride as between C(7) and C(10) is different in the presence of a Lewis acid than it is in the presence of base. Holton et al. described processes for the selective derivatization of the C(7) or the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB and other taxanes, wherein the C(10) hydroxy group may be protected or derivatized prior to the C(7) hydroxy group. Specifically, Holton et al. described a process for acylating or silylating the C(10) hydroxy group prior to acylating, silylating, or ketalizing the C(7) hydroxy group.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the various aspects of the present invention is the provision of processes for preparing paclitaxel in fewer steps than previously known processes. Among the steps, the processes include protecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group and derivatizing the 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative, wherein the protection, derivatization, and subsequent deprotection steps proceed in relatively high yield.

Briefly, therefore, the present invention is directed to a process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising:

(a) protecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group to form a 10-DAB derivative;

(b) further derivatizing the 10-DAB derivative, the further derivatization comprising:

-   -   (i) treating the 10-DAB derivative with a β-lactam side chain         precursor to form a 10-DAB derivative having a side chain,         selectively deprotecting the 10-DAB derivative having a side         chain with an alcohol in the presence of a base to form a C(10)         hydroxy 10-DAB derivative having a side chain, and acetylating         the C(10) hydroxy group of the C(10) hydroxy 10-DAB derivative         having a side chain to form a C(10) acetylated 10-DAB derivative         having a side chain, or     -   (ii) selectively deprotecting the 10-DAB derivative with an         alcohol in the presence of a base to form a C(10) hydroxy 10-DAB         derivative, acetylating the C(10) hydroxy group of the C(10)         hydroxy 10-DAB derivative to form a C(10) acetylated 10-DAB         derivative, and treating the C(10) acetylated 10-DAB derivative         with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form a C(10) acetylated         10-DAB derivative having a side chain, and

(c) deprotecting the product of step (b) to form paclitaxel.

The present invention is also directed to a process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising:

(a) derivatizing a 10-DAB derivative protected at the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups with a bridging silicon-based protecting group and having a tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety attached to the 3′ nitrogen position, the derivatization comprising:

-   -   (i) selectively deprotecting the C(10) hydroxy group of the         10-DAB derivative with an alcohol in the presence of a base to         form a C(10) hydroxy 10-DAB derivative and acetylating the C(10)         hydroxy group of the C(10) hydroxy 10-DAB derivative to form a         C(10) acetylated 10-DAB derivative; or     -   (ii) deprotecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of the         10-DAB derivative with a base to form a C(7), C(10)-hydroxy         10-DAB derivative, and selectively acetylating the C(10) hydroxy         group of the C(7), C(10)-hydroxy 10-DAB derivative to form a         C(7)-hydroxy, C(10)-acetyl 10-DAB derivative; and

(b) converting the product of step (a)(i) or step (a)(ii) to paclitaxel, the conversion comprising:

-   -   (i) deprotecting the product of step (a)(i), the deprotecting         comprising removing the C(7) hydroxy protecting group and the         tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen position of the         product of step (a)(i) to form paclitaxel; or     -   (ii) deprotecting the product of step (a)(ii), the deprotecting         comprising removing the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′         nitrogen position of the product of step (a)(ii) to form         paclitaxel.

The present invention is also directed to a process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising converting a 10-DAB derivative having a benzoyl group attached to the C(2′) oxygen position and a tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety attached to the 3′ nitrogen position to paclitaxel, the conversion comprising:

-   -   (a) removing the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen         position of the 10-DAB derivative causing the benzoyl group         attached to the C(2′) oxygen position to migrate to the 3′         nitrogen position; and     -   (b) if present, removing a C(7) hydroxy protecting group from         the 10-DAB derivative.

The present invention is also directed to a polycyclic fused ring compound corresponding to Formula (210):

wherein

R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—;

R₁₀ is hydrogen or acetyl; or

R₇ and R₁₀ together form —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—;

R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl;

G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo;

Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—;

each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and

n is 1 or 2.

The present invention is also directed to a polycyclic fused ring compound corresponding to Formula (280):

wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group and G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, R₇, R₁₀, R_(10A), and Z are as defined in connection with Formula (210).

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the process of the present invention, it has been discovered that paclitaxel may be prepared by, among other steps, selectively and simultaneously protecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) (1) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group. The resulting 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative is then derivatized according to a variety of pathways and deprotected to produce paclitaxel.

Generally speaking, the bridging silicon-based protecting group used to protect the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1) corresponds to Formula (2):

wherein

G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo;

L₁ and L₂ are independently amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups;

Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—;

each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and

n is 1 or 2.

In one embodiment in which the bridging silicon-based protecting group corresponds to Formula (2), Z is hydrocarbyl. In one such embodiment, Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—, wherein y is a positive integer from 1 to about 8. More preferably in this embodiment, y is 1 to about 4.

In another embodiment in which the bridging silicon-based protecting group corresponds to Formula (2), Z is substituted hydrocarbyl. In one particular embodiment, Z is —[(Z₁₂)—(Z₁₃)]_(k)—[(Z₁₄)]_(m)—, wherein Z₁₂, Z₁₃, and Z₁₄ are each independently —(CH₂)_(y)—, —O—, —S—, or —N—, provided that at least one of Z₁₂ and Z₁₃ is —O—, —S—, or —N—, k is a positive integer from 1 to about 4, m is 0 or 1, and y is a positive integer from 1 to about 4.

In yet another embodiment in which the bridging silicon-based protecting group corresponds to Formula (2), Z is —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O— or —O—, wherein n is 1 or 2. That is, when n is 1, Z is —O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—O—; and when n is 2, Z is —O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—O—. When n is either 1 or 2, each Z₁₀ and each Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl (that is, the two Z₁₀ substituents need not be the same hydrocarbyl moiety and the two Z₁₁ substituents need not be the same hydrocarbyl moiety). In some embodiments, Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are alkyl. In other embodiments, Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are lower alkyl having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms. In still other embodiments, Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are methyl.

In any one of the various embodiments described above (i.e., when Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—, —[(Z₁₂)—(Z₁₃)]_(k)—[(Z₁₄)]_(m)—, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]O—, or —O—), G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo. In some embodiments, G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkyenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl. In other embodiments, G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, or phenyl. In still other embodiments, G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently methyl, ethenyl, isopropyl, phenyl, or cyclopentyl. When any one or more of G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ is alkoxy, it is preferably C₁-C₆ alkoxy.

In any one or more of the embodiments described above, L₁ and L₂ are each independently amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups. In one embodiment, L₁ and L₂ are halide leaving groups. For example, L₁ and L₂ may be independently chloro, fluoro, bromo, or iodo. Alternatively, L₁ and L₂ may be amine leaving groups. For example, L₁ and L₂ may be independently cyclic amines or dialkyl amines such as imidazole, diethylamine, diisopropylamine, and the like. In another alternative example, L₁ and L₂ may be sulfonate leaving groups. For example, L₁ and L₂ may be independently tosylate, triflate, mesylate, and the like.

In one specific embodiment, therefore, L₁ and L₂ are halide leaving groups; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl; Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—; and y is a positive integer from 1 to about 8.

In another specific embodiment, L₁ and L₂ are chloro leaving groups; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, or phenyl; Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—; and y is a positive integer from 1 to about 4.

In a third specific embodiment, L₁ and L₂ are halide leaving groups; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl; Z is —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O— or —O—; n is 1 or 2; and Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are alkyl.

In a fourth specific embodiment, L₁ and L₂ are chloro leaving groups; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, or phenyl; and Z is —O—.

In any one of the four preceding specific embodiments L₁ and L₂ may be, instead of a halide (or, more specifically, chloro), any other suitable functionally reactive leaving group. For example, L₁ may be chloro while L₂ could be a different leaving group such as a different halide, amine, or sulfonate leaving group. Alternatively, each of L₁ and L₂ could be, independently, any other combination of amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups.

Certain particularly preferred bridging silicon-based protecting groups are identified in Table 1 (each of which and other suitable bridging silicon-based protecting groups for use in the process of the present invention being commercially available from Gelest, Inc., Morrisville, Pa.): TABLE 1 Formula Name Structure 1,3-dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane

1,5-dichlorohexamethyltrisiloxane

1,7-dichlorooctamethyltetrasiloxane

1,3-dichloro-1,3-diphenyl-1,3-dimethyldisiloxane

1,3-dichlorotetraphenyldisiloxane

1,3-divinyl-1,3-dimethyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane

1,1,3,3-tetracyclopenyldichlorodisiloxane

1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane

1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)ethane

1,3-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)propane

1,6-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)hexane

1,8-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)octane

It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that each of the bridging silicon-based protecting groups identified in Table 1 could have, instead of chloro, other suitable functionally reactive leaving groups attached to the silyl atom at each end of the bridging silicon-based protecting group. For example, the leaving group at one end could be chloro while the leaving group at the other end could be a different leaving group such as a different halide, amine, or sulfonate leaving group. Alternatively, each of the two leaving groups could be, independently, any other combination of amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups.

The bridging silicon-based protecting groups described above are used with 10-DAB (1), whether obtained from natural or synthetic sources, to protect the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1). The C(7) and C(10) protection occurs prior to the derivatization of various positions on 10-DAB (1), such as the coupling reaction between a β-lactam side chain precursor and 10-DAB to introduce a C(13) side chain onto 10-DAB, and the selective deprotection and acetylation of the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB, described in detail below. Once 10-DAB (1) has been appropriately derivatized to provide the various substituents carried by paclitaxel, the various protecting groups may be removed (i.e., deprotected) to produce paclitaxel.

As noted above, the processes of the present invention include the attachment of a side chain at the C(13) position of 10-DAB (1) by treatment with a β-lactam side chain precursor. In a preferred embodiment, the β-lactam side chain precursor corresponds to Formula (3):

wherein X₅ is tert-butoxycarbonyl or benzoyl and X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group. For example, the β-lactam side chain precursor may correspond to Formula (3B):

wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group. Alternatively, the β-lactam side chain precursor may correspond to Formula (3T):

wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group. Appropriate hydroxy protecting groups include, for example, acetals such as tetrahydropyranyl (THP), methoxymethyl (MOM), 1-ethoxyethyl (EE), 2-methoxy-2-propyl (MOP), 2,2,2-trichloroethoxymethyl, 2-methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM), 2-trimethylsilylethoxymethyl (SEM), and methylthiomethyl (MTM). Alternatively, the hydroxy protecting group may be a silyl protecting group having bulky alkyl groups such as trimethylsilyl, triethylsilyl, tributylsilyl, triisopropylsilyl, dimethylisopropylsilyl, diphenylmethylsilyl, dimethylphenylsilyl, and the like.

Generally, the β-lactam side chain precursors suitable for use in the processes of the present invention can be made as known in the art. In various embodiments, however, β-lactam side chain precursors generally corresponding to Formulae (3), (3B), and (3T) may be prepared according to the various pathways illustrated in Reaction Scheme 1.

In Stage 1 of Reaction Scheme 1, benzaldehyde (4) is reacted with a disilazide (5) in the presence of a polar aprotic solvent (e.g., tetrahydrofuran (THF)) to form a phenyl-substituted imine (6) along with an equivalent of a silanolate (6S). In various embodiments, M is an alkali metal and R₅₁, R₅₂, and R₅₃ are independently alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl. Preferably, R₅₁, R₅₂ and R₅₃ are methyl. In one preferred embodiment, disilazide (5) is lithium- or sodium-hexamethyldisilazide (i.e., LHMDS or NaHMDS).

In Stage 2, the imine (6) is treated with a ketene acetal (7). In various embodiments, R₂₁, R₂₂, and R₂₃ are independently alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl. Preferably, R₂₁, R₂₂, and R₂₃ are methyl. Further, R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, R₁₄, R₁₅, and R₁₆ are independently alkyl, provided that either R₁₁, R₁₂, and R₁₃ or R₁₄, R₁₅, and R₁₆ are methyl. In one preferred embodiment, each of R₁₁, R₁₂, R₁₃, R₁₄, R₁₅, R₁₆, R₂₁, R_(22,) and R₂₃ are methyl. According to this embodiment, the ketene acetal (7) is tris(trimethylsilyloxy)ethane, which is available commercially.

The reactions of Stage 1 and Stage 2 form an N-unsubstituted β-lactam. More specifically, the β-lactam ring-forming reaction in Stage 2 is diastereoselective and (±) cis-β-lactam (8) and (±) trans-β-lactam (8) isomers are formed preferentially in about a 5:1 cis:trans ratio. Following the formation of the N-unsubstituted β-lactam, the (±) cis-β-lactam is crystallized from the isomeric mixture (e.g., using ethyl acetate) and derivatized according to various pathways to form β-lactam side chain precursors carrying appropriate substituents for the preparation of paclitaxel (e.g., β-lactam side chain precursors generally corresponding to Formula (3), above). In various embodiments it may also be desirable to resolve the enantiomeric mixture of (±) cis-β-lactam (8) into its enantiomers. Various pathways for resolving and/or derivatizing N-unsubstituted β-lactams are described in detail below.

According to two such pathways the silyl moiety (i.e., —SiR₂₁R₂₂R₂₃) that ends up in the C(3) position of the isomeric N-unsubstituted β-lactam remains in that position throughout the various steps used to form suitable β-lactam side chain precursors for use in the processes of the present invention.

As shown in Stage 2T, the (±) cis-β-lactam isomer is crystallized from the isomeric mixture of (±) cis- and (±) trans-β-lactams (e.g., using ethyl acetate), and the (±) cis-β-lactam is derivatized by introducing a tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) group (e.g., using di-tert-butyldicarbonate) to the —NH moiety, resulting in the formation of (±) cis-β-lactam (30T). In various embodiments, (±) cis-β-lactam (30T) may be utilized as the β-lactam side chain precursor in the process of the present invention. Alternatively, in other embodiments it may be desirable to resolve the enantiomeric mixture of (±) cis-β-lactam (30T) into its enantiomers, as shown in Stage 3T. The resolution in Stage 3T may be performed by various methods known in the art such as, for example, enzymatic resolution, to form optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300T), wherein X₆ is —SiR₂₁R₂₂R₂₃ (i.e., the silyl moiety that ends up in the C(3) position remains throughout Stages 2T and 3T).

As shown in alternative Stage 2B, the (±) cis-β-lactam is crystallized from the isomeric mixture of (±) cis- and (±) trans-β-lactams (e.g., using ethyl acetate), and the (±)-cis-β-lactam is derivatized by introducing a benzoyl (Bz) group (e.g., using benzoyl chloride) to the —NH moiety, resulting in the formation of (±) cis-β-lactam (30B). When the N-substituent of the β-lactam is benzoyl, the β-lactam is preferably resolved into its enantiomers prior to being used as a β-lactam side chain precursor in the process of the present invention. As in Stage 3T above, the resolution in Stage 3B may be performed by various methods known in the art (e.g., by enzymatic resolution) to form optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B), wherein X₆ is —SiR₂₁R₂₂R₂₃ (i.e., the silyl moiety that ends up in the C(3) position remains throughout Stages 2B and 3B).

In an alternative series of pathways, the (±) cis-β-lactam is crystallized from the isomeric mixture (e.g., using ethyl acetate) and the silyl moiety (i.e., —SiR₂₁R₂₂R₂₃) is removed from the C(3) hydroxy group of the N-unsubstituted β-lactam in Stage 3. Generally, methods are known for removing a silyl protecting group. The resulting N-unsubstituted (±) cis-β-lactam (9) (i.e., (±) cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one) is then derivatized and optionally resolved according to various pathways to produce appropriate β-lactam side chain precursors for use in the present invention.

Similar to Stage 2T described above, in Stage 4T the N-unsubstituted (±) cis-β-lactam is derivatized by introducing a hydroxy protecting group (X₆) to protect the C(3) hydroxy group on the β-lactam. Appropriate hydroxy protecting groups are described in detail above.

The derivatization in Stage 4T also includes introducing a tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) group (e.g., using di-tert-butyldicarbonate) to the —NH moiety of the N-unsubstituted (±)-cis-β-lactam (9). In various embodiments, the β-lactam side chain precursor utilized in the process of the present invention is the N-t-Boc-3-hydroxy protected β-lactam produced in Stage 4T prior to resolution. Thus, the β-lactam side chain precursor corresponds to (±)-cis-β-lactam (300T) (i.e., the β-lactam is present as a mixture of enantiomers). As noted above, however, in other embodiments it may be desirable to resolve the enantiomeric mixture of N-unsubstituted (±)-cis-β-lactam (9) into its enantiomers. If desired, the resolution in Stage 4T may be performed by various methods known in the art such as, for example, enzymatic resolution, to form optically active (3R,4S)-cis-β-lactam (300T), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above.

As shown in related Stage 4B, the N-unsubstituted (±) cis-β-lactam is derivatized by introducing a hydroxy protecting group (X₆) to protect the C(3) hydroxy group on the β-lactam. Appropriate hydroxy protecting groups are described in detail above.

The derivatization in Stage 4B also includes introducing a benzoyl (Bz) group (e.g., using benzoyl chloride) to the —NH moiety of the N-unsubstituted (±) cis-β-lactam (9). As noted above, when the N-substituent of the β-lactam is benzoyl, the β-lactam is preferably resolved into its enantiomers prior to being used as a β-lactam side chain precursor in the process of the present invention. As in Stage 3B above, the resolution in Stage 4B may be performed by various methods known in the art (e.g., by enzymatic resolution) to form optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above.

In yet another pathway, N-unsubstituted (±)-cis-β-lactam (9) is resolved by treating the enantiomeric mixture with an N-substituted-L-proline acylating agent (11) in the presence of an amine. Exemplary L-proline acylating agents are acid chlorides, acid anhydrides, or mixed anhydrides of N-t-butoxycarbonyl-L-proline or N-carbobenzyloxy-L-proline (e.g., R^(n) is t-butoxycarbonyl or carbobenzyloxy and R^(c) is Cl, OC(O)R_(a) where R_(a) is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or heterocyclo), as shown in Stage 4. When R^(c) is hydroxy, the optically active proline acylating agent can be prepared by treating the proline acid with an acid acylating agent such as p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (TsCl), methanesulfonyl chloride (MsCl), oxalic acid chloride, di-tert-butyldicarbonate (Boc₂O), dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), alkyl chloroformate, 2-chloro-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, polyphosphate ester, chlorosulfonyl isocyanate, Ph₃P—CCl₄, and the like. In one embodiment of this process, the L-proline acylating agent preferentially reacts with one member of the enantiomeric pair to form a C(3) diastereomer (110) from one of the N-unsubstituted β-lactam enantiomers. Thus, the enantiomeric mixture of (±)-cis-β-lactam (9) can be optically enriched in one of the enantiomers by (i) treating the original mixture with L-proline acylating agent to preferentially convert one of theβ-lactam enantiomers to an ester derivative (shown in Stage 4) and (ii) selectively recovering the unreacted enantiomer from the ester derivative via crystallization (shown in Stage 5) using, e.g., ethyl acetate, resulting in the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (9). Alternatively, in another embodiment, the L-proline acylating agent reacts with both enantiomers to produce a pair of diastereomers (110 and 110A). Because these diastereomers have different chemical and physical properties, they can be crystallized under different conditions and thus separated, and the C(3) ester may be hydrolyzed to form the C(3) hydroxy optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (9).

Once the enantiomers are separated, the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (9) is derivatized as described above. As shown in Stage 6, the derivatization includes introducing a hydroxy protecting group (X₆) to the C(3) hydroxy group of 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (9), resulting in 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (90), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above. Preferably, the C(3) hydroxy group is protected by MOP by treatment with p-toluenesulfonic acid (TsOH) and 2-methoxy-2-propene.

The derivatization also includes derivatizing the —NH moiety of optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (90). As shown in Stage 7T, the —NH moiety of 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (90) is derivatized by introducing a tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) group (e.g., using di-tert-butyldicarbonate) to form optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300T) (i.e., (3R, 4S (+) cis)-N-t-Boc-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one). Alternatively, in Stage 7B, the —NH moiety of 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (90) is derivatized by introducing a benzoyl (Bz) group (e.g., using benzoyl chloride) to form optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) ((3R, 4S (+) cis)-N-benzoyl-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one).

One embodiment of the process of the present invention is illustrated in Reaction Scheme 2 (which describes the preparation of paclitaxel) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, L₁, L₂, and Z are as defined in connection with Formula (2), R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl, and X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group. Appropriate hydroxy protecting groups are described in detail above.

Stage 1 of Reaction Scheme 2 illustrates the simultaneous protection of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group (2) to form 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12). Any bridging silicon-based protecting group described herein may be utilized in this step. For example, in one embodiment, G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl; Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—; and y is a positive integer from 1 to about 8. In another embodiment, G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl; Z is —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—or —O—; n is 1 or 2; and Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are alkyl. In either of these two embodiments, L₁ and L₂ are independently amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups.

The simultaneous protection of 10-DAB (1) is preferably carried out in the presence of a base and a solvent. Appropriate bases include, for example, amine bases such as N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), and suitable solvents include, for example, polar aprotic solvents such as THF. Alternatively, however, in other embodiments other bases and solvents, such as inorganic bases and/or non-polar solvents, for example, may be preferred.

As illustrated, 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12) is a common intermediate compound for two alternative synthetic pathways to produce paclitaxel. Following the formation of 10-DAB derivative (12), derivative (12) is derivatized according to either of these two pathways to produce 10-DAB derivative (17), which is deprotected to form paclitaxel (18). The two alternative pathways for the derivatization of 10-DAB derivative (12) are represented in Reaction Scheme 2 as Pathway A and Pathway B.

In Stage 2A of Pathway A, 10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form 10-DAB derivative (13). As shown, the β-lactam side chain precursor corresponds to optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) (i.e., (3R, 4S (+) cis)-N-benzoyl-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above. Optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) may be formed by any of the various methods and pathways described above in Reaction Scheme 1, or by other methods known to those of skill in the art.

10-DAB derivative (12) is typically treated with the β-lactam side chain precursor in Stage 2A in the presence of a deprotonating agent (such as an organometallic compound (e.g., n-butyllithium or n-hexyllithium) or a disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS or LHMDS) or an amine or ammonium-containing compound (such as a tetraalkylammonium halide or an alkali metal dialkyl amine). Alternatively, however, 10-DAB derivative (12) may be treated with the β-lactam side chain precursor in the presence of a tertiary amine (such as triethyl amine, diisopropylamine, pyridine, N-methyl imidazole, and N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP)).

In Stage 3A, the C(10) hydroxy group of 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (13) is selectively deprotected using an alcohol (i.e., R_(10A)OH wherein R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; preferably alkyl) or a mixture of alcohols in the presence of a base to form 7-protected 10-DAB derivative (14). Preferably, the alcohol used in the C(10) selective deprotection is methanol (i.e., R_(10A)OH wherein R_(10A) is methyl). Suitable bases for the C(10) selective deprotection include triethyl amine, sodium carbonate, or sodium bicarbonate; preferably, the base is triethylamine or sodium bicarbonate. The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group may additionally take place in the presence of a solvent. The solvent for the C(10) deprotection can be an alcohol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, methylene chloride, or combinations thereof; preferably the solvent is methanol.

The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group is followed by the selective acetylation of the deprotected C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 4A. The progression of Stages 2A, 3A, and 4A in Pathway A form 7-protected-10-acetoxy 10-DAB derivative (17), which may also be produced using alternative synthesis Pathway B described in detail below. The selective acetylation in Stage 4A is performed by treating the C(10) hydroxy group with an acetylating agent to acetylate the C(10) position, forming 10-DAB derivative (17). Various acetylating agents may be used in this step such as, for example, acetyl halides, acetic anhydride, and the like. Preferably, the acetylating agent is acetyl chloride. The selective acetylation is typically performed in the presence of a disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS or LHMDS) to deprotonate the C(10) hydroxy group.

In alternative Pathway B, 7-protected-10-acetoxy 10-DAB derivative (17) is produced by first treating 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12) with an alcohol or a mixture of alcohols in the presence of a base in Stage 2B to form 7-protected 10-DAB derivative (15). The reagents and conditions for the selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 2B are the same or similar as those described in connection with the selective deprotection step in Pathway A (i.e., Stage 3A) above.

The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 2B is followed by the selective acetylation of the deprotected C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 3B to form 10-DAB derivative (16) using the same or similar reagents as those described in connection with the selective acetylation step in Pathway A (i.e., Stage 4A) above. For example, 10-DAB derivative (15) may be treated with an acetylating agent (e.g., acetyl chloride) in the presence of a disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS or LHMDS) or an organometallic compound (e.g., n-butyllithium or n-hexyllithium) to form 10-DAB derivative (16).

In Stage 4B, a side chain is attached to the C(13) position of 10-DAB derivative (16) by treating 10-DAB derivative (16) with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form 10-DAB derivative (17). As shown, the β-lactam side chain precursor corresponds to optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) (i.e., (3R, 4S (+) cis)-N-benzoyl-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above. As noted above, optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) may be formed by any one of the various methods and pathways described above in Reaction Scheme 1, or by other methods known to those of skill in the art. The reagents and conditions for the C(13) side chain attachment in Stage 4B are the same or similar as those described in connection with the side chain attachment step in Pathway A (i.e., Stage 2A) above. For example, 10-DAB derivative (16) may be treated with the β-lactam side chain precursor in the presence of a disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS or LHMDS) to form 10-DAB derivative (17).

Following the formation of 7-protected-10-acetoxy 10-DAB derivative (17) according to either of these two pathways (i.e., (12)→(13)→(14)→(17) or (12)→(15)→(16)→(17)), 10-DAB derivative (17) is deprotected to form paclitaxel (18) in Stage 5. The various protecting groups are generally removed by hydrolysis (i.e., using a hydrolyzing agent) under relatively mild conditions so as not to disturb the C(13) ester linkage and/or other hydrolyzable substituents on the polycyclic portion of 10-DAB derivative (17) and/or the side chain.

A preferred embodiment of the process of the present invention is illustrated in Reaction Scheme 3 (which describes the preparation of paclitaxel) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, L₁, L₂, and Z are as defined in connection with Formula (2), R_(10A) is methyl, and X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above.

Stage 1 of Reaction Scheme 3 illustrates the simultaneous protection of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group (2) to form 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12). Any bridging silicon-based protecting group described herein may be utilized in this stage. For example, the bridging silicon-based protecting group may be 1,3-dichloro-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (i.e., Formula (2) wherein L₁ and L₂ are chloro; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are each methyl; and Z is —O—). By way of another example, the bridging silicon-based protecting group may be 1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)ethane (i.e., Formula (2) wherein L₁ and L₂ are chloro; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are each methyl; Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—; and y is 2). By way of another example, the bridging silicon-based protecting group may be 1,5-dichlorohexamethyltrisiloxane (i.e., Formula (2) wherein L₁ and L₂ are chloro; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are each methyl; Z is —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—; n is 1 and Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ are methyl). The transformation of 10-DAB (1) to 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12) is accomplished in the presence of N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent.

As described above, 10-DAB derivative (12) is a common intermediate compound which may be derivatized according to two alternative pathways to produce paclitaxel (18), shown in Reaction Scheme 3 as Pathway A and Pathway B.

In Stage 2A of Pathway A, 10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) in the presence of LHMDS and THF to form 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (13). Alternatively, 10-DAB derivative (12) may be treated with optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) in the presence of another deprotonating agent (such as an organometallic compound (e.g., n-butyllithium or n-hexyllithium) or another disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS) or an amine or ammonium-containing compound (such as a tetraalkylammonium halide or an alkali metal dialkyl amine). As noted above, optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) may be prepared according to the various methods described in Reaction Scheme 1, or by other methods known to those of skill in the art.

In Stage 3A, 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (13) is selectively deprotected at the C(10) hydroxy position using methanol (i.e., R_(10A)OH wherein R_(10A) is methyl) in the presence of sodium bicarbonate to form 10-DAB derivative (14). The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group is followed by the selective acetylation of the deprotected C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 4A to form 10-DAB derivative (17). As shown in Stage 4A, LHMDS is utilized to deprotonate the C(10) hydroxy group and acetyl chloride is utilized as the acetylating agent to form 7-protected-10-acetoxy 10-DAB derivative (17).

Alternatively, 10-DAB derivative (17) may be produced according to Pathway B by first selectively deprotecting 10-DAB derivative (12) with methanol (i.e., R_(10A)OH wherein R_(10A) is methyl) in the presence of sodium bicarbonate in Stage 2B to form 10-DAB derivative (15). The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group is followed by the selective acetylation of the deprotected C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 3B using acetyl chloride in the presence of LHMDS to form 10-DAB derivative (16).

In Stage 4B, 10-DAB derivative (16) is treated with optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) in the presence of LHMDS and THF to form 10-DAB derivative (17). Alternatively, 10-DAB derivative (16) may be treated with optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) in the presence of another deprotonating agent (such as an organometallic compound (e.g., n-butyllithium or n-hexyllithium) or another disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS) or an amine or ammonium-containing compound (such as a tetraalkylammonium halide or an alkali metal dialkyl amine). As noted above, optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) may be prepared according to the various methods described in Reaction Scheme 1, or by other methods known to those of skill in the art.

Following the formation of 7-protected-10-acetoxy 10-DAB derivative (17) according to either of these two pathways (i.e., (12)→(13)→(14)→(17) or (12)→(15)→(16)→(17)), 10-DAB derivative (17) is treated with hydrochloric acid (HCl) in the presence of acetonitrile (ACN) to remove (i.e., deprotect) the C(7) and the C(2′) hydroxy protecting groups, thus forming paclitaxel (18).

Reaction Schemes 4 and 5 below describe additional synthesis pathways for the production of paclitaxel. In general, these pathways utilize polycyclic fused ring intermediate compounds corresponding to Formulae (210) or (280):

wherein

R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—;

R₁₀ is hydrogen or acetyl; or

R₇ and R₁₀ together form —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—;

R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl;

X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above and G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, and Z are as defined in connection with Formula (2).

Thus, another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Reaction Scheme 4 (which describes the production of paclitaxel). As illustrated in Reaction Scheme 4, polycyclic fused ring compounds generally corresponding to Formula (260):

may be converted to paclitaxel according to two pathways, wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, L₁, L₂, R_(10A), and Z are as defined above, and R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—. In general, the conversion involves the removal of —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))— from the C(7) hydroxy position, if present, and also involves the removal of the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen position of 10-DAB derivative (260) causing the benzoyl group to migrate to the 3′ nitrogen position, forming paclitaxel.

Stage 1 of Reaction Scheme 4 illustrates the simultaneous protection of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group (2) to form 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12). As described above, any bridging silicon-based protecting group may be utilized in this step, and the simultaneous protection is typically carried out in the presence of a base and a solvent. Appropriate bases and solvents that may be used in this step are described in detail above.

Following the formation of 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12) in Stage 1, 10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form 10-DAB derivative (21). As shown, 10-DAB derivative (21) may be prepared according to two alternative pathways. Particularly, two different β-lactam side chain precursors may be utilized to prepare 10-DAB derivative (21) in a one- or two-step process.

According to one pathway, the β-lactam side chain precursor is (±) cis or optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (3000T) (i.e., N-t-Boc-3-benzoyl-4-phenylazetidin-2-one), shown in Stage 2. Since the N-substituent is not benzoyl, the β-lactam can be present as a mixture of enantiomers or may be present as only the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis enantiomer. The β-lactam utilized in Stage 2 may be prepared according to a variety of methods, including by one or more of the various pathways in Reaction Scheme 1. For example, the β-lactam side chain precursor may be prepared by reacting benzaldehyde, a disilazide, and a ketene acetal to produce an N-unsubstituted β-lactam, and derivatizing the β-lactam by introducing a benzoyl group to the C(3) position and a tert-butoxycarbonyl group to the —NH moiety. The β-lactam may remain as a mixture of enantiomers (i.e., unresolved) or the mixture of enantiomers may be resolved to obtain the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis enantiomer using, e.g., an L-proline or L-proline derivative as described above, or by other resolution methods such as enzymatic resolution.

In an alternative pathway shown as Stages 2A and 2B, the β-lactam side chain precursor is (±) cis or optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300T) (i.e., N-t-Boc-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one), wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group other than benzoyl. The β-lactam utilized in Stage 2A may also be produced according to a variety of methods, including by one or more of the various pathways in Reaction Scheme 1 (e.g., derivatized by introducing a hydroxy protecting group other than benzoyl to the C(3) position and by introducing a tert-butoxycarbonyl group to the —NH moiety, and present as a mixture of enantiomers or resolved to provide the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis enantiomer). Preferably, X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group that cleaves more slowly than the bridging silicon-based protecting group. In Stage 2B, the X₆ hydroxy protecting group (formerly on the C(3) hydroxy group of the β-lactam, now at the C(2′) position of the side chain) is replaced with benzoyl. The benzoyl group is introduced to the C(2′) position by reacting 10-DAB derivative (19) with, for example, benzoic anhydride in the presence of a Lewis acid (e.g., CeCl₃) to form 10-DAB derivative (21). Paclitaxel may then be produced from 10-DAB derivative (21) according to two pathways.

In one pathway, following the preparation of 10-DAB derivative (21) by either of the pathways described above (i.e., as a one-step process (Stage 2) or as a two-step process (Stages 2A and 2B)), 10-DAB derivative (21) is selectively deprotected at C(10) using an alcohol (i.e., R_(10A)OH wherein R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; preferably alkyl) or a mixture of alcohols in the presence of a base in Stage 3 to form 7-protected 10-DAB derivative (22). Appropriate alcohols, bases, and solvents for use in this step are described in detail above.

The selective deprotection of the C(10) hydroxy group is followed by the selective acetylation of the deprotected C(10) hydroxy group in Stage 4 to form 10-acetyl derivative (23). As described above, the selective acetylation may be performed, for example, by treating 10-DAB derivative (22) with an acetylating agent (e.g., acetyl chloride) in the presence of a disilazide (e.g., NaHMDS or LHMDS).

After 10-DAB derivative (22) is selectively acetylated, the resulting C(10) acetylated derivative (23) is treated with a hydrolyzing agent in Stage 5 to deprotect the C(7) hydroxy group (i.e., the removal of the —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))— moiety) and to remove the 3′ nitrogen tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety. Once the 3′ nitrogen is unprotected, the benzoyl group attached to the C(2′) oxygen migrates to the 3′ nitrogen, thus forming paclitaxel (18).

In alterative pathway, paclitaxel may produced by deprotecting 10-DAB derivative (21) with a base (e.g., sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃)) in Stage 3B to completely remove the bridging silicon-based protecting group and form derivative (25). According to this pathway, the benzoyl group at the C(2′) position is selected to stay attached to the C(2′) oxygen under the conditions of the reaction with an acetylating agent. Derivative (25) can then be treated with an acetylating agent (e.g., acetic anhydride) in the presence of a Lewis acid (e.g., CeCl₃) in Stage 5A to selectively acetylate the C(10) hydroxy group, forming derivative (26). After 10-DAB derivative (25) is selectively acetylated, the resulting C(10) acetylated derivative (26) is treated with a hydrolyzing agent in Stage 6A to remove the 3′ nitrogen tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety. Once the 3′ nitrogen is unprotected, the benzoyl group attached to the C(2′) oxygen migrates to the 3′ nitrogen, thus forming paclitaxel (18).

Paclitaxel may also be formed without forming 10-DAB derivative (21). As shown in Stage 3A, 10-DAB derivative (19) may be completely deprotected using a hydrolyzing agent to form docetaxel (24), and a benzoyl group may be selectively introduced to the C(2′) hydroxy position of docetaxel in Stage 4A using benzoyl chloride (or other benzoyl halide) in the presence of an amine (e.g., pyridine) to form derivative (25). Derivative (25) may then be selectively acetylated and deprotected in Stages 5A and 6A as described above to form paclitaxel.

Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Reaction Scheme 5 (which describes the production of paclitaxel), wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, G₄, L₁, L₂, and Z are as defined in connection with Formula (2), R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl, and X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group as defined above.

Stage 1 of Reaction Scheme 5 illustrates the simultaneous protection of the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB (1) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group (2) to form 7,10-DAB derivative (12). As described above, any bridging silicon-based protecting group may be utilized in this step, and the simultaneous protection is typically carried out in the presence of a base and a solvent. Appropriate bases and solvents that may be used in this step are described in detail above.

Following the formation of 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivative (12) in Stage 1, 10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with a β-lactam side chain precursor and derivatized to produce paclitaxel. As shown, two different β-lactam side chain precursors may be utilized to form derivative (28), which may then be further derivatized according to a variety of pathways to produce paclitaxel.

According to one pathway for the formation of derivative (28), shown in Stage 2,10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with (±) cis or optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300T) (i.e., N-t-Boc-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one) to form 10-DAB derivative (19) as described above in connection with Reaction Scheme 4. After the attachment of the side chain to produce derivative (19), a benzoyl group is introduced to the 3′ nitrogen of the side chain to form derivative (28).

According to an alternative pathway, shown in Stage 2A, 10-DAB derivative (12) is treated with (±) cis or optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam (300B) (i.e., N-benzoyl-3-protected hydroxy-4-phenylazetidin-2-one) to form 10-DAB derivative (27). After the attachment of the side chain to produce derivative (27), a tert-butoxycarbonyl group is introduced to the 3′ nitrogen group on the side chain, e.g., using di-tert-butyldicarbonate (i.e., Boc₂O) in the presence of a polar aprotic solvent (e.g., ethyl acetate, tetrahydrofuran (THF), or dimethylformamide (DMF)), forming derivative (28).

Following the formation of derivative (28) according to either of these two pathways (i.e., (12)→(19)→(28) or (12)→(27)→(28)), derivative (28) can be transformed to paclitaxel through either of the two pathways described above. For example, in one pathway, derivative (28) is treated with an alcohol or mixture of alcohols in the presence of a base to selectively open the bridging silicon-based protecting group at the C(10) position and form 7-protected derivative (29). The C(10) deprotection is followed by treatment with an acetylating agent (e.g., acetyl chloride) in Stage 5 to form 10-acetyl derivative (30), followed by treatment with a hydrolyzing agent in Stage 6 to remove the various protecting groups (i.e., the —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O—(R_(10A))— moiety at the C(7) hydroxy position and the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety at the 3′ nitrogen position) to form paclitaxel.

In a second pathway, derivative (28) is treated with a base (e.g., sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃)) in Stage 4A to completely remove the bridging silicon-based protecting group producing derivative (31), followed by selectively acetylating the C(10) position with an acetylating agent (e.g., acetic anhydride) in the presence of a Lewis acid (e.g., CeCl₃) in Stage 5A to form 10-acetyl derivative (32). Selective acetylation is followed by deprotection of the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety on the 3′ nitrogen with a hydrolyzing agent in Stage 6A to form paclitaxel (18).

ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS

The following definitions and methods are provided to better define the present invention and to guide those of ordinary skill in the art in the practice of the present invention. Unless otherwise noted, terms are to be understood according to conventional usage by those of ordinary skill in the relevant art.

The terms “hydrocarbon” and “hydrocarbyl” as used herein describe organic compounds or radicals consisting exclusively of the elements carbon and hydrogen. These moieties include alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and aryl moieties. These moieties also include alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and aryl moieties substituted with other aliphatic or cyclic hydrocarbon groups, such as alkaryl, alkenaryl and alkynaryl. Unless otherwise indicated, these moieties preferably comprise 1 to 20 carbon atoms.

The “substituted hydrocarbyl” moieties described herein are hydrocarbyl moieties which are substituted with at least one atom other than carbon, including moieties in which a carbon chain atom is substituted with a heteroatom such as nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, phosphorous, boron, sulfur, or a halogen atom. These substituents include halogen, heterocyclo, alkoxy, alkenoxy, alkynoxy, aryloxy, hydroxy, protected hydroxy, keto, acyl, acyloxy, nitro, amino, amido, nitro, cyano, thiol, ketals, acetals, esters, ethers, and thioethers.

The term “heteroatom” shall mean atoms other than carbon and hydrogen.

The “heterosubstituted methyl” moieties described herein are methyl groups in which the carbon atom is covalently bonded to at least one heteroatom and optionally with hydrogen, the heteroatom being, for example, a nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, phosphorous, boron, sulfur, or halogen atom. The heteroatom may, in turn, be substituted with other atoms to form a heterocyclo, alkoxy, alkenoxy, alkynoxy, aryloxy, hydroxy, protected hydroxy, oxy, acyloxy, nitro, amino, amido, thiol, ketals, acetals, esters or ether moiety.

The “heterosubstituted acetate” moieties described herein are acetate groups in which the carbon of the methyl group is covalently bonded to at least one heteroatom and optionally with hydrogen, the heteroatom being, for example, a nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, phosphorous, boron, sulfur, or halogen atom. The heteroatom may, in turn, be substituted with other atoms to form a heterocyclo, alkoxy, alkenoxy, alkynoxy, aryloxy, hydroxy, protected hydroxy, oxy, acyloxy, nitro, amino, amido, thiol, ketals, acetals, esters or ether moiety.

Unless otherwise indicated, the alkyl groups described herein are preferably lower alkyl containing from one to eight carbon atoms in the principal chain and up to 20 carbon atoms. They may be straight or branched chain or cyclic and include methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, hexyl, and the like.

Unless otherwise indicated, the alkenyl groups described herein are preferably lower alkenyl containing from two to eight carbon atoms in the principal chain and up to 20 carbon atoms. They may be straight or branched chain or cyclic and include ethenyl, propenyl, isopropenyl, butenyl, isobutenyl, hexenyl, and the like.

Unless otherwise indicated, the alkynyl groups described herein are preferably lower alkynyl containing from two to eight carbon atoms in the principal chain and up to 20 carbon atoms. They may be straight or branched chain and include ethynyl, propynyl, butynyl, isobutynyl, hexynyl, and the like.

The terms “aryl” or “ar” as used herein alone or as part of another group denote optionally substituted homocyclic aromatic groups, preferably monocyclic or bicyclic groups containing from 6 to 12 carbons in the ring portion, such as phenyl, biphenyl, naphthyl, substituted phenyl, substituted biphenyl or substituted naphthyl. Phenyl and substituted-phenyl are the more preferred aryl.

The terms “halide,” “halogen” or “halo” as used herein alone or as part of another group refer to chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and iodine.

The terms “heterocyclo” or “heterocyclic” as used herein alone or as part of another group denote optionally substituted, fully saturated or unsaturated, monocyclic or bicyclic, aromatic or nonaromatic groups having at least one heteroatom in at least one ring, and preferably 5 or 6 atoms in each ring. The heterocyclo group preferably has 1 or 2 oxygen atoms, 1 or 2 sulfur atoms, and/or 1 to 4 nitrogen atoms in the ring, and may be bonded to the remainder of the molecule through a carbon or heteroatom. Exemplary heterocyclo include heteroaromatics such as furyl, thienyl, pyridyl, oxazolyl, pyrrolyl, indolyl, quinolinyl, or isoquinolinyl and the like. Exemplary substituents include one or more of the following groups: hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, keto, hydroxy, protected hydroxy, acyl, acyloxy, alkoxy, alkenoxy, alkynoxy, aryloxy, halogen, amido, amino, nitro, cyano, thiol, ketals, acetals, esters and ethers.

The term “heteroaromatic” as used herein alone or as part of another group denote optionally substituted aromatic groups having at least one heteroatom in at least one ring, and preferably 5 or 6 atoms in each ring. The heteroaromatic group preferably has 1 or 2 oxygen atoms, 1 or 2 sulfur atoms, and/or 1 to 4 nitrogen atoms in the ring, and may be bonded to the remainder of the molecule through a carbon or heteroatom. Exemplary heteroaromatics include furyl, thienyl, pyridyl, oxazolyl, pyrrolyl, indolyl, quinolinyl, or isoquinolinyl and the like. Exemplary substituents include one or more of the following groups: hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, keto, hydroxy, protected hydroxy, acyl, acyloxy, alkoxy, alkenoxy, alkynoxy, aryloxy, halogen, amido, amino, nitro, cyano, thiol, ketals, acetals, esters and ethers.

The term “acyl,” as used herein alone or as part of another group, denotes the moiety formed by removal of the hydroxy group from the group —COOH of an organic carboxylic acid, e.g., RC(O)—, wherein R is R¹, R¹O—, R¹R²N—, or R¹S—, R¹ is hydrocarbyl, heterosubstituted hydrocarbyl, or heterocyclo, and R² is hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl.

The term “acyloxy,” as used herein alone or as part of another group, denotes an acyl group as described above bonded through an oxygen linkage (—O—), e.g., RC(O)O— wherein R is as defined in connection with the term “acyl.”

Unless otherwise indicated, the alkoxycarbonyloxy moieties described herein comprise lower hydrocarbon or substituted hydrocarbon or substituted hydrocarbon moieties.

Unless otherwise indicated, the carbamoyloxy moieties described herein are derivatives of carbamic acid in which one or both of the amine hydrogens is optionally replaced by a hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl or heterocyclo moiety.

The terms “hydroxy protecting group” as used herein denote a group capable of protecting a free hydroxy group (“protected hydroxy”) which, subsequent to the reaction for which protection is employed, may be removed without disturbing the remainder of the molecule. Exemplary hydroxy protecting groups include ethers (e.g., allyl, triphenylmethyl (trityl or Tr), benzyl, p-methoxybenzyl (PMB), p-methoxyphenyl (PMP)), acetals (e.g., methoxymethyl (MOM), β-methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM), tetrahydropyranyl (THP), ethoxy ethyl (EE), methylthiomethyl (MTM), 2-methoxy-2-propyl (MOP), 2-trimethylsilylethoxymethyl (SEM)), esters (e.g., benzoate (Bz), allyl carbonate, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl carbonate (Troc), 2-trimethylsilylethyl carbonate), silyl ethers (e.g., trimethylsilyl (TMS), triethylsilyl (TES), triisopropylsilyl (TIPS), triphenylsilyl (TPS), t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS), t-butyldiphenylsilyl (TBDPS) and the like. A variety of protecting groups for the hydroxy group and the synthesis thereof may be found in “Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis” by T. W. Greene and P. G. M. Wuts, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.

As used herein, “10-DAB” means 10-deacetylbaccatin III; “Ac” means acetyl (i.e., CH₃C(O)—); “ACN” means acetonitrile; “Bz” means benzoyl (i.e., C₆H₅C(O)—); “BzCl” means benzoyl chloride; “Cbz” means carbobenzyloxy; “DMAP” means N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine; “EtOAc” means ethyl acetate; “LHMDS” means lithium hexamethyldisilazide; “NaHMDS” means sodium hexamethyldisilazide; “Ph” means phenyl; “t-Boc” means tert-butoxycarbonyl; “TEA” means triethylamine; “THF” means tetrahydrofuran; “TMSCl” means trimethylsilyl chloride; and “TsOH” means p-toluenesulfonic acid.

The term “taxane” as used herein, denotes compounds containing the A, B and C rings (with numbering of the ring positions shown herein):

The following examples illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE 1 PREPARATION OF TRIMETHYLSILYL 2-(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)ACETATE

Trimethylsilyl 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)acetate is available from many vendors. However, it can be easily prepared from inexpensive glycolic acid ($75/Kg from Aldrich) and trimethylsilyl chloride ($80/Kg from Aldrich) in the presence of 2 equivalents of pyridine. Typically, glycolic acid (76.05 g, 1 mol) was dissolved in dry pyridine (164 mL, 2 mol) then the mixture was cooled to 0 to 5° C. in an ice-water bath with stirring. Neat trimethylsilyl chloride (108.64 g, 1 mol) was added drop-wise to control the exotherm to less than 40° C. Pyridinium chloride precipitated as a free flowing solid. Heptane (500 mL) was added to aid the agitation. The second equivalent of neat trimethylsilyl chloride was added and the mixture was stirred at ambient 22 to 40° C. for 30 minutes until the reaction was complete. The mixture was further diluted with heptane (1 L) and the salt was allowed to precipitate out. The heptane layer was siphoned into the rotary evaporator through a medium porous inline filter and concentrated to give a clear oil (215 g, 0.98 mol) of the trimethylsilyl 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)acetate. It was distilled in the rotary evaporator at 70 to 75° C. under vacuum of 6 to 8 mmHg.

EXAMPLE 1A

When the reaction of the lithium enolate (made by treating trimethylsilyl-(trimethylsilyloxy)acetate with lithium hexamethyldisilazide) with trimethylsilylbenzaldimine (generated in situ from aldehyde (1a-f below) and lithium hexamethyldisilazide) reported by Hart et al. (Chem. Rev. 1989, 89, 1447-1465) was examined, the enolate decomposition occurred faster than its reaction with the imine at 0 to 5° C. A solution to this problem was found by lowering the temperature of the enolate's reaction to −25° C. and using an excess (e.g., 2 eqs) amount of the enolate.

Thus, benzaldehyde (5.3 g, 0.05 mol) was added to the 1.0 M solution of LHMDS in THF (150 mL 0.15 mol) at 0° C. and the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes before cooling to −30 to −25° C. Once the reaction temperature was at −30° C., a 1 M solution of the trimethylsilyl 2-(trimethylsiloxy)acetate ester (22.0 g, 0.1 mol, 2 eq) in THF was added drop-wise to control the exotherm to maintain the reaction temperature to <−25° C. . The mixture was stirred at this temperature for 1 h before warming to −5 to 0° C. The mixture was stirred at this temperature for 18 h. The mixture was quenched with a saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate (100 mL) and extracted with 1-butanol (500 mL). The 1-butanol was evaporated under vacuum and the residue was taken up in methanol (75 mL) and sodium carbonate (0.5 g, 0.005 mol) for approximately 1 h at ambient temperature. The reaction mixture then was quenched with acetic acid (0.6 g, 0.010 mol), triethylamine (2 g, 0.02 mol), and diluted with 100 mL of ethyl acetate. The mixture was filtered through a pad of silica gel (50 g) and the filtrate was concentrated on a rotary evaporator at 40° C. until crystal formation occurred. The mixture was cooled in a 0° C. ice bath for 30 min and the crystals were collected via vacuum filtration, washed with cold ethyl acetate, and dried to a constant weight of 4.13 g (50% yield); a white powder resulted.

EXAMPLE 2 PREPARATION OF 3-HYDROXY-4-SUBSTITUTED-AZETIDIN-2-ONES

A 1 M solution of LHMDS in THF (100 mL, 0.1 mol) was cooled to 0° C. and a 1 M solution of trimethylsilyl 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)acetate (22.0 g, 0.1 mol) in THF that was prepared as in Example 1 was added drop-wise to control the exotherm and maintain the temperature at 0° C. to 5° C. To this solution was added 1 equivalent of trimethylsilyl chloride followed by the addition of 1 equivalent of LHMDS and 1 equivalent of benzaldehyde with stirring at 0 to 15° C. over 14 h. The 3-trimethylsilyloxy β-lactam products were observed (via HNMR of reaction mixture) as a 5:1 cis:trans ratio in quantitative yield. This process is depicted in Scheme 6 below.

Methanolysis of the silyl ether was easily accomplished in 15 minutes at ambient temperature with a catalytic amount of sodium carbonate and the desired product cis-hydroxy-4-substituted-β-lactam crystallized out in 48% isolated yield upon concentration from ethyl acetate.

EXAMPLE 3 PREPARATION OF 3-HYDROXY-4-THIENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

Typically, a 1.0 M THF solution of lithium hexamethyldisilazide (140 mL, 0.14 mol) under nitrogen was diluted with THF (140 mL) and cooled to 0 to 5° C. with an ice-water bath. The trimethylsilyl 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)acetate (33.4 g, 0.14 mol) was added drop-wise over 20 minutes. To this enolate solution was added trimethylsilylchloride (17.7 mL, 0.14 mol) and after 5 minutes of stirring, a second portion of LHMDS solution in THF (100 mL, 0.10 mol) was added over 10 minutes. To this solution was added 2-thiophenecarboxaldehyde (11.29, 0.1 mol) drop-wise over 15 to 20 min to control the exotherm at <5° C. This solution was stirred at 0 to 5° C. over 14 h corresponding to complete disappearance of the imine.

The reaction was neutralized with glacial acetic acid (6 g, 0.10 mol) and diluted with ethyl acetate (400 mL) and transferred to a 2-L separatory funnel. The mixture was washed with water (100 mL) and brine (100 mL). The organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate, filtered through a pad of silica gel and concentrated to give a yellow solid. The solid was taken up in methanol (300 mL) and solid Na₂CO₃ (1.0 g) and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 15 min. TLC monitoring eluting with 2:1 ethyl acetate:hexanes showed complete conversion from the non-polar TMS-ether (Rf=0.7) to the polar product (Rf=0.25). The reaction was quenched with glacial acetic acid (0.6 mL) and the mixture was concentrated to a solid. The solid was dissolved in hot ethyl acetate (500 mL) and the insoluble salts were filtered off through a pad of silica gel. The filtrate was concentrated under rotary evaporation at 40° C. to approximately 40 mL of volume to induce crystal formation. The mixture was cooled to ambient temperature and the crystals (8.13 g, 0.048 mol, 48% yield) were collected as a white powder. Furthermore, the process was conveniently carried out in a one-pot operation when the reaction was quenched with sodium bicarbonate and extracted with 1-butanol and ethyl acetate as described in Example 4.

EXAMPLE 4 PREPARATION OF VARIOUS AZETIDIN-2-ONES

The ketene acetal tris(trimethylsilyloxy)ethene is a commercially available product, and can be used for the synthesis of β-lactams starting from various aldehydes as depicted in Scheme 7 below. Thus, when benzaldehyde was treated with a THF solution of lithium hexamethyldisilazide at 0° C., the N-trimethylsilylbenzaldimine was generated instantaneously along with an equivalent of lithium trimethylsilanolate. Stirring this mixture with the ketene acetal at 10 to 15° C. for 14 h resulted in the formation of the β-lactams similar to the reaction in Scheme 7. This ketene acetal reaction was found to be general across various aromatic and enolizable aliphatics we examined (see Table 2) and produced predominantly cis-β-lactams in all cases.

TABLE 2 Aldehyde Cis:trans a

5:1 b

3:1 c

5:1 d

5:1 e

4:1 f

3:1

To optimize the reaction conditions, 0.8 equivalents of trimethylsilylchloride were added prior to the addition of the ketene acetal. This modification resulted in an increase in isolated yield to 66% of the product β-lactam a (Scheme 8). Thus, in a single operation starting with the readily available benzaldehyde and tris(trimethylsilyloxy)ethene we obtained β-lactam a in high purity which is an important intermediate for the synthesis of taxanes.

In one experiment, a 0.5 M solution of LHMDS in THF was cooled to −10 to 0° C. then 1.0 equivalent of benzaldehyde was added over 15 min to control the exothermic imine reaction temperature to <15° C. Once the reaction temperature was −10 to −5° C., neat tris(trimethylsilyl)ethene (1.2 eq) was added. The mixture was stirred at this temperature over 14 h. Reaction completion was monitored by HNMR for the disappearance of the imine. Once complete, trimethylsilyl chloride (1 eq) was added to convert the lithium trimethylsilanolate to the volatile hexamethyldisiloxane. The reaction was washed twice with water at 1/10 the volume of reaction mixture to remove the lithium chloride salt. To the THF solution was added a catalytic amount of 1.0 M HCl and stirred for 2 h for complete desilylation the intermediate (Rf=0.8) as monitored by TLC analysis (EtOAc:Heptane, 3:1) to give the product (Rf=0.2). The hydrochloric acid in the reaction was quenched with triethylamine and the mixture was filtered through a pad of silica gel followed by exchange of the THF with ethyl acetate under rotary evaporation. The crystals were collected as a white solid and washed with cold ethyl acetate. β-lactam a: mp: 140 to 145° C.; ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) (ppm): 2.26 (d, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (d, J=4.96 Hz, IH, 5.12 (m, 1H), 4.15 (bm, 1H), 7.41 (m, 5H).

In another experiment, benzaldehyde was added to a 1.0 M THF solution of LHMDS (100 mL, 0.1 mol) at 0° C. and the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes followed by the addition of TMSCl (10 mL, 0.08 mol). To this solution was added tris(trimethylsilyloxy)ethylene (40 mL, 0.12 mol) and the mixture was stirred at −10 to −5° C. over 24 h. The mixture was warmed to ambient temperature over 2 h and quenched with saturated sodium bicarbonate (25 mL) and stirred at ambient temperature for 30 min and the layers were separated. The aqueous layer was back extracted with 1-butanol (200 mL) and the organic layers were combined and washed with brine (50 mL), dried over sodium sulfate, filtered through a pad of silica gel and concentrated to give a solid. The solid was taken up in hot ethyl acetate (800 mL) and the insoluble solids were filtered off through a pad of silica gel. The filtrate was concentrated under rotary evaporation at 40° C. to approximately 15 mL in volume to induce crystal formation. The mixture was cooled to ambient temperature and the crystals (10.73 g, 0.025 mol, 66% yield) were collected as a white powder. β-lactam a: mp: 140 to 145° C.; ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) (ppm): 2.26 (d, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (d, J=4.96 Hz, 1H, 5.12 (m, 1H), 4.15 (bm, 1H), 7.41 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 5 TRIMETHYLSILYL 2-(TRIMETHYLSILYOXY)ACETATE

Glycolic acid (91.2 g, 2.4 mol) was dissolved in pyridine (194 g, 2.45 mol) and acetonitrile (600 mL) by mechanical stirring under nitrogen and reflux condensor. Trimethylsilylchloride (TMSCl, 260 g, 2.4 mol) was added via an addition funnel over 30 min. The mixture was stirred for 30 min and the hexanes (250 mL) was added and the phases were separated. To the bottom layer was added a second lot of hexanes (100 mL) and agitated vigorously for 5 minutes. Then the phases were separated and the hexanes layers were combined and concentrated under rotary evaporation at 30° C. to give 240 g (91% yield) of the known acetate.

EXAMPLE 6 TRIS(TRIMETHYLSILOXY)ETHANE

To a 0.5 M THF solution of LHMDS (200 mL, 0.1 mol) at 0° C. was added the trimethylsilyl-2-(trimethylsiloxy)acetate (23.9 mL, 0.1 mol) drop-wise over 15 minute and the mixture was stirred at this temperature for an additional 15 min to generate the lithium enolate. Trimethylsilyl chloride (12.5 mL, 0.1 mol) was added over 15 minutes to trap the enolate as the tris(trimethylsiloxy)ethene product. The mixture was warmed to ambient temperature and the THF solvent was removed by vacuum rotary evaporation at 40° C. to precipitate out the lithium chloride. The mixture was taken up in 300 mL of hexanes and 5 mL of triethylamine and stirred for 5 min; the salt was allowed to settle. The supernatant was filtered through a pad of diatomaceous earth twice to give a clear solution. The solution was concentrated under rotary evaporation to give the lightly yellow colored oil product. The solution was concentrated under rotary evaporation to give the lightly yellow colored oil product identical to the commercial product. Bp=90° C. at 1 mmHg.

EXAMPLE 7 N-TRIMETHYLSILYL-3-TRIMETHYLSILOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

A one-pot procedure for the synthesis of previously unreported N-trimethylsilyl beta-lactam from the trimethylsilyl-2-trimethylsiloxy-acetate has been discovered to be an efficient economical method not requiring cryogenic cooling. To a magnetically stirring solution of hexamethyldisilazane (390 g, 2.42 mol) in dry 1,2-dimethoxyethane (505 mL) under nitrogen with a circulation chiller at 0° C. was added a 2.5 M solution of n-butyllithium (840 mL, 2.1 mol) at a rate so as to control the exothermic reaction temperature to <30° C. (over 45 min) to generate the required LHMDS base in situ. Once the LHMDS solution temperature has reached <10° C., a neat mixture of TMSCl (119.5 g, 1.1 mol) and the trimethylsilyl-2-(trimethylsiloxy)acetate (240 g, 1.1 mol) was added over 15 minutes to give the tris(trimethylsiloxy)ethene in situ. Then neat benzaldehyde (106.12 g, 1.0 mol) was added at a rate so as to control the exothermic reaction temperature to <25° C. to give the N-trimethylsilyl-benzaldimine in situ. The mixture was allowed to react at ambient temperature (22° C.) until ¹HNMR monitoring indicated that the disappearance of the ketene acetal resonance at 5.4 ppm (CDCl₃) occurred at 12 h of reaction time. The reaction mixture was quenched with trimethylchlorosilane (TMSCl, 108.64 g, 1.0 mol), triethylamine (25.3 g, 0.25 mol) followed by acetic acid (6.0 g, 0.1 mol) while keeping the exothermic reaction temperature to <22° C. The mixture was diluted with hexanes (500 mL) and the resulting lithium chloride salt was filtered off through a pad of celite (200 g) followed by filter cake washing with hexanes (250 mL). The filtrate was concentrated under rotary vacuum evaporation to a residue. The residue was taken up in hexanes (500 mL) and allowed to stand at −25° C. to induce crystal formation. The white crystals were collected by vacuum filtration, washed with cold −20° C. hexanes (200 mL), and dried to a constant weight of 152 g. The filtrate was concentrated to a residue, taken up in hexanes (200 mL), and recrystallized as previous to give a second crop of 32 g. The crops were combined (184 g, 60% yield) after HNMR analysis to be pure cis-N-trimethylsilyl-3-trimethylsiloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one. Mp: 53 to 55° C. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.11 (s, 9H), 0.14 (s, 9H), 4.63 (d, J=5.01 Hz, 1H), 5.06 (d, J=5.01 Hz, 1H), 7.31 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 8 CIS-3-TRIMETHYLSILOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a solution of N-trimethylsilyl-3-trimethylsiloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (140 g, 0.46 mol) in hexanes (600 mL) at ambient temperature was added triethylamine (101 g, 1 mol), methanol (22 g, 0.7 mol) and the mixture was stirred for 15 minutes resulting in crystal formation of the N-desilylated product. The mixture was cooled to 0° C. for 15 min and the white crystals were collected by vacuum filtration, washed with cold hexanes, and dried to a constant weight of 94 g (87% yield). Mp: 118 to 120° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): −0.08 (s, 9H), 4.79 (d, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 5.09 (dd, J=4.4, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 6.16 (bm, 1H), 7.3 to 7.4 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 9 CIS-3-HYDROXY-4PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a heterogeneous solution of N-trimethylsilyl-3-trimethylsiloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (150 g, 0.49 mol) in methanol (500 mL) was added a catalytic amount of trimethylchlorosilane (1.089, g 1 mmol) and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature to give a clear solution. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) monitoring of the reaction eluting with ethyl acetate and hexanes (3:1) indicated that complete conversion was achieved after 15 minutes. The reaction mixture was quenched with triethylamine (10.1 g, 0.1 mol) and the methanol was removed under rotary evaporation at 40° C. until crystals formed. Ethyl acetate (300 mL) was added and the evaporation was continued to remove the remaining methanol to give a thick slurry before cooling to 0 to 5° C. for 20 minutes. The white crystals were collected via vacuum filtration following by washing with cold 0° C. ethyl acetate (75 mL) and dried to constant weight of 75 g (94% yield) of the desire product described previously.

EXAMPLE 10 1-(TRIETHYLSILYLOXY)-1,2-BIS(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)ETHANE

To a solution of diisopropylamine (15.5 mL, 0.11 mol) in THF (100 mL) at −78° C. was added a 1.6 M hexanes solution of n-butyl lithium (70 mL, 0.11 mol) over 15 minutes. After stirring for an additional 15 minutes at this temperature, triethylsilylchloride (16.7 mL, 0.1 mol) was added over 10 minutes followed by the addition of trimethylsilyl-2-(trimethylsiloxy)acetate (24.4 mL, 0.1 mol) over 30 minutes. The reaction was stirred at −78° C. for 30 minutes and warmed to ambient temperature by removing the cryogenic bath. The THF solvent was removed by vacuum rotary evaporation at 40° C. to precipitate out the lithium chloride. The mixture was taken up in 300 mL of hexanes and 5 mL of triethylamine and stirred for 5 min and the salt was allowed to settle. The supernatant was twice filtered through a pad of diatomaceous earth to give clear solution. The solution was concentrated under rotary evaporation to give the lightly yellow colored oil product as a mixture of geometrical isomers (4:1).

EXAMPLE 11 TRIETHYLSILYL-2-(TRIETHYLSILYLOXY)ACETATE

Glycolic acid (76.05 g, 1 mol) was dissolved in dry pyridine (164 mL, 2 mol) and the mixture was cooled to with ice-water bath with stirring. Neat triethylsilyl chloride (115 g, 1 mol) was added drop-wise to control the exotherm to less than 40° C. Pyridinium chloride precipitated as a free flowing solid. Heptane (500 mL) was added to aid the agitation. The second equivalent of neat triethylsilylchloride was added and the mixture was stirred as ambient temperature (22 to 40° C.) for 30 minutes until the reaction was complete. The mixture was further diluted with heptane (1 L) and the salt was allowed to precipitate out. The heptane layer was siphoned into the rotary evaporator through a medium porous inline filter and concentrated to give a clear oil (215 g, 0.98 mol) of the triethylsilyl-2-(triethylsilyloxy)acetate ester. The oil was further purified by vacuum distillation. Bp: 128 to 130° C., 1.5 mmHg. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.64 (q, J=8.04 Hz, 6H) 0.78 (q, J=8.04, 6H), 0.97 (t, J=8.04, 2×9H), 4.2 (s, 2H).

EXAMPLE 12 TRIS(TRIETHYLSILOXY)ETHANE

The ester was added to a 0.5 M THF (200 mL, 0.1 mol) solution over 15 minutes and the mixture was stirred at this temperature for an additional 15 minutes to generate the lithium enolate. Triethylsilyl chloride (16.7 mL 0.1 mol) was added over 15 minutes to trap the enolate as the tris(triethylsiloxy)ethene product. The mixture was warmed to ambient temperature and the THF solvent was removed by vacuum rotary evaporation at 40° C. to precipitate out the lithium chloride. The mixture was taken up in 300 mL of hexanes and 5 mL of triethylamine and stirred for 5 minutes while the salt was allowed to settle. The supernatant was twice filtered through a pad of diatomaceous earth to give a clear solution. The solution was concentrated under rotary evaporation to give the lightly yellow colored oil product.

EXAMPLE 13 1,2-BIS(TRIETHYLSILYLOXY)-1-(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)ETHENE

To a solution of diisopropylamine (15.5 mL, 0.11 mol) in THF (100 mL) at −78° C. was added a 1.6 M hexanes solution of n-butyl lithium (70 mL, 0.11 mol) over 15 minutes. After stirring for an additional 15 minutes at this temperature, triethylsilylchloride (16.7 mL, 0.1 mol) was added over 10 minutes followed by the addition of triethylsilyl-2-(triethylsiloxy)acetate (37.6 g, 0.1 mol) over 30 minutes. The reaction was stirred at −78° C. for 30 minutes and warmed to ambient temperature by removing the cryogenic bath and the THF solvent was removed by vacuum rotary evaporation at 40° C. to precipitate the lithium chloride. The mixture was taken up in 300 mL of hexanes and 5 mL of triethylamine and stirred for 5 minutes and the salt was allowed to settle. The supernatant was twice filtered through a pad of diatomaceous earth to give a clear solution. The solution was concentrated under rotary evaporation to give the lightly yellow colored oil product as a 1:1 mixture of geometrical isomers.

EXAMPLE 14 CIS-3-TRIETHYLSILOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a magnetically stirring solution of hexamethyldisilazane (39 g, 0.242 mol) in dry 1,2-dimethoxyethane (50 mL) under nitrogen with a circulation chiller at 0° C. was added a 2.5 M solution of n-butyllithium (84.0 mL, 0.21 mol) at a rate so as to control the exothermic reaction temperature to <30° C. (over 15 min) to generate the required LHMDS base in situ. Once the LHMDS solution temperature reached <−30° C., a neat solution of TMSCl (12 g, 0.11 mol) was added and the triethylsilyl-2-(triethylsiloxy)acetate (33.5 g, 0.11 mol) was added over 15 minutes to give the 1,2-bis(triethylsilyloxy)-1-(trimethylsilyloxy)ethene in situ as a mixture of geometrical isomers (6:1). Then, neat benzaldehyde (10.6 g, 0.10 mol) was added at a rate so as to control the exothermic reaction temperature to <−25° C. to give the N-trimethylsilyl-benzaldimine in situ. The hexanes solvent was removed under vacuum and the mixture was allowed to react at ambient temperature (22° C.) until ¹HNMR monitoring indicated that the disappearance of the ketene acetal resonance at 5.43 ppm (CDCl₃) had occurred after 14 h of reaction time. The reaction mixture was quenched with trimethylchlorosilane (TMSCl, 10.8 g, 1.0 mol), triethylamine (2.53 g, 0.025 mol) and acetic acid (0.60 g, 0.01 mol) while keeping the exothermic reaction temperature to <22° C. The mixture was diluted with hexanes (50 mL) and resulting lithium chloride salt was filtered off through a pad of celite (20 g) followed by washing the filter cake with hexanes (25 mL). The filtrate was concentrated under rotary vacuum evaporation to a residue. The residue was taken up in hexanes (50 mL), triethylamine (5 mL) and methanol at ambient temperature and stirred for 15 minutes. TLC analysis of the mixture eluting with ethyl acetate: hexanes (2:1) indicated complete conversion to the desired product (R_(f)=0.45) after 10 minutes of reaction time. The mixture was then diluted with ethyl acetate (100 mL), filtered through a pad of silica gel (25 g) and concentrated until crystals formed. The crystals were collected via vacuum filtration, washed with hexanes and dried to a constant weight of 7.68 g as a white free flowing powder. Upon standing for 2 h at ambient temperature, the filtrate gave 2.8 g of a second crop after harvest. The combined yield was 38%. Mp: 98 to 100° C. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.44 (m, 6H), 0.78 (t, J=8.0 Hz, 9H), 4.80 (d, J=4.80, 1H), 5.08 (dd, 4.80, 2.80, 2H), 6.18 (bs, 1H), 7.28 to 7.38 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 15 CIS-N-T-BUTOXYCARBONYL-3-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

Racemic cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (100 g, 0.61 mol) was dissolved in THF (2.7 L) at ambient temperature at approximately 25 mL/g then cooled to −10 to −15° C. TsOH monohydrate catalyst (3.5 g, 0.018 mol, 3 mol %) was added and then 2-methoxy-2-propene (65 mL, 1.1 to 1.2 eq) was added drop-wise to control the exothermic reaction. The reaction was monitored by TLC and the 2-methoxy-2-propene (2.9 mL) was charged as needed until the disappearance of the starting material was achieved. Triethylamine (85 mL, 0.612 mol) was added to quench the TsOH catalyst. Di-tert-butyldicarbonate (160.5 g, 0.735 mol, 1.2 eq) was added along with DMAP (2.25 g, 0.018 mol, 3 mol %) and the reaction was allowed to proceed at ambient temperature until complete. The mixture was diluted with heptane (1.97 L) approximately equal in volume to the THF used and filtered through a bed of silica gel (100 g) to remove the polar catalysts. The filter cake was washed with 1 L of a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate:heptane to ensure complete product recovery. The filtrate was concentrated until crystal formation occurred. Crystals were collected and washed with ice-cold heptane containing 2% triethylamine. The powder was dried to constant weight of 161.0 g (0.48 mol, 78%) under vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at ambient (22° C.) temperature. Mp: 90 to 92° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.92 (s, 3H), 1.21 (s, 3H), 1.37 (s, 9H), 1.58 (s, 3H), 3.12 (s, 3H), 5.03 (d, J=5.69 Hz, 1H), 5.17 (d, J=5.69 Hz, 1H), 7.33 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 16 RACEMIC CIS-3-TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a solution of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS, 460 mL, 2.2 mol) in anhydrous dimethoxyethane (200 mL) at 0° C. was added a 2.5 M solution of n-butyllithium (nBuLi, 800 mL, 2.0 mol) over 45 min to maintain the reaction temperature at less than 40° C. After the addition, benzaldehyde was added to the reaction mixture over 1 h to maintain the reaction temperature at less than 40° C. After the addition was complete the mixture was cooled to 0° C. and tris(trimethylsiloxy)ethane (643 g, 2.2 mol) was added and the mixture was stirred until reaction was complete (12 h); reaction completion was determined by the disappearance of the starting ethene material. The reaction mixture was quenched with trimethylsilylchloride (TMSCl, 217.28 g, 1.0 eq), triethylamine (50 mL) and acetic acid (20 mL) and diluted with ethyl acetate (1.0 L). The lithium salt was filtered off via a sintered funnel. The filtrate was concentrated to dryness. The solid was taken up in heptane (1.0 L) and treated with methanol (96 g, 1.5 eq) at 20 to 40° C. to give crystals of the product. The solid product was collected via vacuum filtration through a Buchner funnel and washed with cold 15% ethyl acetate in heptane. The solid was taken up in ethyl acetate (1.5 L) and washed with brine, dried over sodium sulfate (200 g) and concentrated to give a white powder. Mp: 118 to 120° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): −0.08 (s, 9H), 4.79 (d, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 5.09 (dd, J=4.4, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 6.16 (bm, 1H), 7.3 to 7.4 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 77 RACEMIC CIS-N-T-BUTOXYCARBONYL-3-TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

Racemic cis-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (11.5 g, 48.9 mmol) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF, 250 mL) at ambient temperature under nitrogen and di-tert-butyldicarbonate was added along with N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP, 0.185 g, 1.5 mmol) and the mixture was magnetically stirred until the evolution of gas ceased. The mixture was filtered through a bed of silica gel (10 g) and concentrated on the rotary evaporator to give a white solid product. The product was washed with cold heptane (50 mL) and collected by vacuum filtration and dried to a constant weight of 12.3 g (75% yield) at ambient temperature and vacuum (0.2 mmHg). Mp: 75 to 77° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): −0.07 (s, 9H), 1.38 (s, 9H), 5.01 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 1H), 5.06 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 1H), 7.26 to 7.38 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 18 RACEMIC (±)-CIS-N-T-BUTOXYCARBONYL-3-DIPHENYLMETHYLSILYLOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a solution of racemic (±)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (4.5 g, 27.8 mmol) in THF (70 mL) under nitrogen was added triethylamine (8.4 g, 83.4 mmol), DMAP (100 mg, 0.83 mmol) and cooled to 0° C. Diphenylmethylsilyl chloride (7.1 g, 30.6 mmol) was added dropwise and the mixture was stirred at 0° C. for 30 min until complete disappearance of the starting material as shown by TLC eluting with 3:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and heptane. Di-tert-butyldicarbonate (Boc₂O, 6.68 g, 30.6 mmol) was added and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature for 3 h for complete conversion to the desired product as shown by TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate:heptane). The mixture was diluted with heptane (150 mL) and filtered through silica gel (20 g) and the filtrate was concentrated to a solid. The solid was recrystallized from heptane (150 mL) to give a white powder (9.5 g, 74%). Mp 98° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.46 (s, 3H), 1.39 (s, 9H), 4.94 (d, J=5.5 Hz, 1H), 5.04 (d, J=5.5 Hz, 1H), 7.2 to 7.4 (m 15H).

EXAMPLE 19 RESOLUTION OF (±)-CIS-3-HYDROXY-4-(2-FURYL)-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

(±)-Cis-3-hydroxy-4-(2-furyl)-azetidin-2-one (500 g, 3.265 mol) was treated with N-t-Boc-L-proline (378.83 g, 1.76 mol) in the presence of 0.5 equivalents of p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (335.53 g, 1.76 mol) and 1-methyl-imidazole (303.45 g, 3.7 mol) at −78° C. for 12 hours. The mixture was filtered through 5 kg of silica gel. The undesired (−)-β-lactam enantiomer of t-Boc-L-proline ester was removed by trituration with water. The desired enantiomer was recovered by azeotropic removal of the water with 2-methyl-1-propanol and recrystallized from ethyl acetate to give the desired (+)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-(2-furyl)-azetidin-2-one. The optical purity after recrystallizing from ethyl acetate was greater than 98%. mp: 133 to 135° C.; [α]²⁰D=+109.5 (MeOH, c=1.0), ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) (ppm): 2.69 (bs, 1H), 4.91 (d, J=4.96 Hz, 1H), 5.12 (bs, 1H), 6.10 (bs, 1H), 6.34 (dd, J=3.32, 3.32 Hz, 1H), 6.47 (d, J=3.32 Hz, 1H), 7.49 (m, 1H).

EXAMPLE 20 RESOLUTION OF (±)-CIS-3-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

(±)-Cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (60 g, 0.368 mol) was treated with N-cBz-L-proline (45 g, 0.184 mol) in the presence of 0.5 equivalents of p-toluenesulfonyl chloride (35 g, 0.184 mol) and 1-methylimidazole (45 mL, 0.56 mol) at −78° C. for 12 hours. After concentration of the reaction mixture and filtration through silica gel to remove the 1-methylimidazolium tosylate salt, the desired diastereomer was crystallized from ethyl acetate to give 14.5 g (48%) of a white solid. This protocol resulted in kinetic resolution of the enantiomeric mixture to give the desired (+)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one. The optical purity after recrystallizing from ethyl acetate was greater than 98%. mp: 175 to 180° C.; [α]₅₇₈ ²⁰=+202 (MeOH, c=1.0), ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) (ppm): 2.26 (d, J=9.4 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (d, J=4.96 Hz, 1H), 5.12 (m, 1H), 4.15 (bm, 1H), 7.41 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 21 KINETIC RESOLUTION OF (±)-CIS-3-HYDROXY-4PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a dry 250-mL round bottom flask under nitrogen was added acetonitrile (50 mL) and 1-methyl-imidazole (28 g, 0.2 mol) and the mixture was cooled to 0 to 5° C. Methanesulfonyl chloride (MsCl, 17.44 g, 0.1 mol) was added slowly to the mixture to control the exothermic reaction. After the reaction temperature was cooled to 0-5° C., N-cBz-L-proline (25 g, 0.1 mol) was added and the mixture was stirred at this temperature for 30 min. In a separate 3-L flask under nitrogen, racemic (±)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (16.3 g, 0.1 mol) was dissolved in acetone (1 L) and cooled to −65 to −78° C. and stirred mechanically. Once the temperature reached below −65° C., the content of the flask containing the proline reagent was added to the acetone solution of the racemic starting material. The mixture was kept at this temperature for a minimum of 6 h and a white precipitate was observed. The precipitate was allowed to settle and supernatant was transferred to the rotary evaporator as a cold solution (circa −45° C.) via vacuum suction through an immersion filter. The acetone was removed and exchanged with ethyl acetate (500 mL) and triethylamine (50 g, 5 eq) base. The resulting salt was filtered off and the filtrate was concentrated to approximately 100 mL and crystal formation was allowed to occur. The crystals were collected via vacuum filtration through a Buchner funnel, washed with cold ethyl acetate, and dried under vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at ambient temperature to a constant weight of 7.5 g (46% yield).

The efficiency of the kinetic resolution was determined by the ratio of the diastereomeric ester (SSS:RRS) of the beta-lactam with the Boc-L-proline via ¹HNMR according to Scheme 9. In Table 3, TsCl is tosyl chloride, Boc₂O is di-tert-butyldicarbonate, MsCl is mesyl chloride and MstCl is mesityl chloride.

TABLE 3 Entry R Activator Base Temp (° C.) Solvent Time h/% Conv. Dr SSS:RRS 1 PMP TsCl 1-methyl-imidazole −78 DME/ACN 3/50  10:1 2 H TsCl 1-methyl-imidazole −78 DME/ACN 3/50 8.5:1 3 H TsCl 1-methyl-imidazole 0 ACN 3/50 2.6:1 4 H TsCl triethylamine 0 ACN 3/15   1:2.9 5 H TsCl 1-methylbenzimidazole −78 to 22 DME/ACN 12/50    8:1 6 H TsCl 1,2-dimethylimidazole −78 DME/ACN 3/50 4.5:1 7 H TsCl Pyridine −40 Pyridine 6/20 6.8:1 8 H TsCl Pyridine 0 Pyridine 3/50 3.8:1 9 H TsCl DMAP 0 ACN 3/50   1:1 10 H Boc₂O 1-methyl-imidazole 0 ACN 1/30   2:1 11 H MsCl 1-methyl-imidazole −40 DME/ACN 4/50 4.3:1 12 H MsCl Pyridine −40 Pyridine 6/10   5:1 13 H MstCl 1-methyl-imidazole −40 DME/ACN 12/50  4.3:1

EXAMPLE 22 CLASSICAL RESOLUTION OF (±)-CIS-3-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

As an alternative to the above kinetic resolution, the diastereomeric mixture of the proline esters was separated via recrystallization from ethyl acetate. Subsequent hydrolysis of the proline esters separately would yield both enantiomers of the beta-lactam and recover the chiral amino acid. Thus, to a solution of N-methyl-imidazole (12 g, 150 mmol) in acetonitrile (80 mL) at 0° C. was added methanesulfonyl chloride (MsCl, 5.7 g, 50 mmol) and stirred for 15 minutes until the exothermic reaction temperature was stable at 0° C. To this solution was added N-Boc-L-Proline (11 g, 50 mmol) portion-wise and stirred at 0° C. for 30 minutes. Racemic (±)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (8.2 g, 50 mmol) was added portion-wise and the mixture was stirred at this temperature until TLC monitoring (3:1/ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated complete conversion to the ester products after 1 h. The acetonitrile solvent was removed under rotary evaporation at 40° C. and the residue was taken up in ethyl acetate (500 mL), washed with water (100 mL), saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, brine, and dried over sodium sulfate. The drying agent was removed by vacuum filtration and the filtrate was concentrated to give 18 g of solid. A portion (7 g) of the mixture was taken up in 40° C. ethyl acetate (60 mL) and crystals (1.5 g) were formed at 40° C.; the crystals were collected and shown to be the desired 3R,4S-diastereomer of the (2S)-tert-butyl (3R,4S)-2-oxo-4-phenylazetidin-3-yl pyrrolidine-1,2-dicarboxylate. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): This diastereomer exists as a 1.7:1 (δ(ppm)5.84:5.87) pair of diastereomers on the NMR timescale as typified by the characteristic chemical shift change of the starting material C3-carbinol proton from a multiplet at 5.12 ppm downfield to 5.8 ppm as a pair of doublet of doublets (J=4.68, 2.57 Hz) in the esterified product.

The filtrate was allowed to stand at ambient temperature for 5 h to give a second form of crystals (2.4 g) shown to be the 3S,4R-diastereomer of (2S)-tert-butyl (3S,4R)-2-oxo-4-phenylazetidin-3-yl pyrrolidine-1,2-dicarboxylate. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): This diastereomer exists as a 1:1.9 (δ(ppm)5.90:5.94) pair of diastereomers on the NMR timescale as typified by the characteristic chemical shift change of the starting material C(3)-carbinol proton from a multiplet at 5.12 ppm downfield to 5.9 ppm as a pair of doublet of doublets (J=4.68, 2.57 Hz) in the esterified product.

Differences between the classical thermodynamic controlled resolution and the kinetic resolution are that a stoichiometric amount of reagents are used and careful low temperature control is not critical. However, classical resolution requires one additional step of de-esterification of the diastereomeric ester to recover the desired C3-hydroxy substituted β-lactam.

EXAMPLE 23 OPTICALLY ACTIVE (+)-CIS-3-TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

Optically active (+)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (3.4 g, 20.8 mmol) was dissolved in THF (30 mL) along with triethylamine (5.8 g, 57.4 mmol) and DMAP (76 mg, 0.62 mmol) at 0° C. Trimethylsilyl chloride (2.4 g, 22 mmol) was added dropwise and the mixture stirred for 30 min. TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate:heptane) showed complete conversion to the less polar product. The mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (30 mL), washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate (15 ml), brine (15 ml), and dried over sodium sulfate (5 g). The sodium sulfate was filtered and the filtrate was concentrated and solvent exchanged with heptane (50 mL) to give a white powder. The powder was collected via vacuum filtration through a Buchner funnel and dried under vacuum (<1 mmHg) at ambient temperature to a constant weight of 3.45 g (72% yield). mp: 120 to 122° C., [α]²² ₅₇₈=+81.9 (MeOH,1.0), ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): −0.08 (s, 9H), 4.79 (d, J=4.4 Hz, 1H), 5.09 (dd, J=4.4, 2.7 Hz, 1H), 6.16 (bm, 1H), 7.3 to 7.4 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 24 OPTICALLY ACTIVE (+)-CIS-N-T-BUTOXYCARBONYL-3-TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

To a solution of optically active (+)-cis-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (0.95 g, 4 mmol) in THF (10 mL) was added triethylamine (1.1 g, 5 mmol), DMAP (15 mg, 0.12 mmol) and di-tert-butyldicarbonate (Boc₂O, 5.04 g, 5 mmol). The mixture was stirred at ambient temperature until the evolution of gas ceased and complete conversion to a less polar product was observed via TLC (2:1 ethyl acetate:heptane). The reaction mixture was diluted with heptane (20 mL) and filtered through a pad of silica gel (10 g) and concentrated in a 30° C. rotary evaporator until crystal formation occurred. The crystals were collected via vacuum filtration through a Buchner funnel, washed with cold heptane, and dried under vacuum (<1 mmHg) at ambient temperature to a constant weight of 0.87 g (65%). mp: 85 to 88° C., [α]²² ₅₇₈=+106.9 (MeOH, 1.0), ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): −0.07 (s, 9H), 1.38 (s, 9H), 5.01 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 1H), 5.06 (d, J=5.6 Hz, 1H), 7.26 to 7.38 (m, 5H).

EXAMPLE 25 (+)-CIS-N-BENZOYL-3-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE FROM (+)-CIS-3-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-AZETIDIN-2-ONE

(+)-Cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (13.67 g, 83.8 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous THF (275 mL) under nitrogen at a concentration of 20 mL/g, cooled to −15 to −10° C., and TsOH monohydrate (0.340 g, 1.8 mmol) was added. To the reaction at this temperature was added drop-wise 2-methoxy-2-propene (6.49 g, 90 mmol). A sample of the reaction mixture was quenched with 5% TEA in ethyl acetate and the conversion to the intermediate was monitored by TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate:Heptane). Once the reaction was complete, triethylamine (25.5 g, 251 mmol) and DMAP (0.220 g, 1.8 mmol) were added. Benzoyl chloride (12.95 g, 92.18 mmol) was added to the reaction mixture before warming to ambient temperature and stirred until the conversion to (+)-cis-N-benzoyl-3-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one was complete (3 to 5 h). The mixture was diluted with heptane equal in volume to the THF. The solid salt was filtered off and the mixture was washed with water, saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate and brine. The organic phase was filtered through silica gel and the filtrate was concentrated until crystals formed. The solid was collected by vacuum filtration and washed with heptane:triethylamine (95:5) as a white solid (21.0 g, 61.9 mmol, 74% yield). Mp:98 to 100° C. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.99 (s, 3H), 1.54 (s, 3H), 3.15 (s, 3H), 5.27 (d, J=6.3 Hz, 1H), 5.41 (d, J=6.3 Hz, 1H), 7.30 to 7.43 (m, 5H), 7.47 (t, J=7.54 Hz, 2H), 7.59 (m, J=7.54 Hz, 1H)), 8.02 (m, J=7.54 Hz, 2H).

EXAMPLE 26 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-10-DAB

Typically, 10-DAB (108.96 g, 0.20 mol) was dissolved in THF at approximately 20 to 25 mL/g (2.2 L) along with 2.5 eq of DMAP (61.08 g, 0.5 mol). To this solution was added 1,3-dichloro-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane (42.67 g, 0.21 mol) at ambient temperature until the conversion the product was complete by TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate/heptane). The reaction mixture then was diluted with heptane (2 L) to precipitate out the DMAP-HCl salt and filtered through silica gel (104.5 g). The filter cake was washed with a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and heptane (800 mL) to ensure complete product recovery. The filtrate was stabilized with triethylamine (14 mL) and concentrated until crystals formed. The mixture was chilled to 0° C. for 30 min and the white solid was collected via a Buchner funnel and washed with ice-cold 20% ethyl acetate in heptane (500 mL). The filter cake was dried under vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at 50° C. to constant weight of 109 g. The filtrate was filtered thru silica gel and concentrated to give 13.2 g of a second crop of crystals. The total yield was 122.2 g (0.18 mol, 90%), at 99.2 % HPLC purity. mp: 220 to 223° C. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.07 (s, 3H), 0.11 9 (s, 3H), 0.14 (s, 3H), 0.41 (s, 3H), 1.09 (s, 6H), 1.51 (s, 1H), 1.89 (ddd, J=13.9, 12.4, 2.2 Hz, 1H), 1.99 (d, J=4.6 Hz) 1.56 (s, 3H), 2.04 (bs, 3H), 2.27 (m, 1H), 2.29 (s, 3H), 2.33 (m, 1H), 3.92 (d, 7.5 Hz, 1H), 4.19 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 4.3 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 4.51 (dd, J=10.6, 6.7 Hz, 1H), 4.87 (bm, 1H), 4.95 (dd, J =9.4, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 5.60 (d, J=7.5, 1H), 5.61 (s, 1H), 7.48 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 2H), 7.6 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 1H)8.1 (d J=7.8, 2H).

EXAMPLE 27 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-ETHANEDIYL)-10-DAB

10-DAB (0.544 g, 1 mmol) was dissolved in THF at approximately 20 to 25 mL/g (10 mL) along with 2.5 eq of DMAP (0.3 g, 2.5 mmol). To this solution was added 1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)ethane (0.215 g, 1 mol) at ambient temperature until the conversion of the product was complete by TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate/heptane). The reaction mixture then was diluted with heptane (20 mL) to precipitate out the DMAP-HCl salt and filtered through silica gel (10 g). The filter cake was washed with a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and heptane (20 mL) to ensure complete product recovery. The filtrate was stabilized with triethylamine (0.5 mL) and concentrated until crystals formed. The mixture was chilled to 0° C. for 30 min and the white solid was collected via a Buchner funnel and washed with ice-cold 20% ethyl acetate in heptane (10 mL). The filter cake was dried under vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at 50° C. to constant weight of 0.58 g (85% yield). Mp: 191 to 193° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.05 (s, 3H), 0.9 (s, 3H), 0.17 (s, 3H), 0.33 (s, 3H), 0.43 (m, 1H), 0.57 (dd, J=11.8, 5.6 Hz, 2H), 0.78 (m, 1H), 1.05 (s, 3H), 1.10 (s, 3H), 1.54 (s, 1H), 1.69 (s, 3H), 1.87 (m, J=14.1, 12.6, 4.2, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 2.06 (d, J=1.2Hx, 3H), 2.11 (d, J=5.0 Hz, 1H), 2.26 (m 1H), 2.27, (s, 3H), 2.32 (m, 1H), 3.92 (d, J=6.8 Hz, 1H), 4.15 (d, J=8.5), 4.28 (d, J=8.5 Hz), 4.31 (dd, J=10.1, 6.5 Hz, 1H), 4.84 (m, 15.2, 5.4, 7.7 Hz), 4.92 (dd, J=9.7, 2.0 Hz, 1H), 5.46 (s, 1H), 5.57 (d, J=7.3, 1H), 7.48 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 2H), 7.6 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 1H)8.1 (d J=7.8, 2H).

EXAMPLE 28

7,10-O-(1,1,3,3,5,5-HEXAMETHYL-1,3,5-TRISILOXANEDIYL)-10-DAB

10-DAB (0.544 g, 1 mmol) was dissolved in THF at approximately 20 to 25 mL/g (10 mL) along with 2.5 eq of DMAP (0.3 g, 2.5 mmol). To this solution was added 1,5-dichlorohexamethyltrisiloxane (0.277 g, 1 mol) at ambient temperature until the conversion the product was complete by TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate/heptane). The reaction mixture then was diluted with heptane (20 mL) to precipitate out the DMAP-HCl salt and filtered through silica gel (10 g). The filter cake was washed with a 1:1 mixture of ethyl acetate and heptane (20 mL) to ensure complete product recovery. The filtrate was stabilized with triethylamine (0.5 mL) and concentrated until crystals formed. The mixture was chilled to 0° C. for 30 min and the white solid was collected via a Buchner funnel and washed with ice-cold 20% ethyl acetate in heptane (10 mL). The filter cake was dried under vacuum (0.1 mmHg) at 50° C. to constant weight of 0.65 g (87% yield). Mp: 240 to 242° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.06 (s, 6H), 0.09 (1, 3H), 0.15 (s, 3H), 0.16 (s, 3H), 0.29 (s, 3H), 1.05 (s, 3H), 1.19 (s, 3H), 1.56 (s, 1H), 1.70 (s, 3H), 1.89 (m, 1H), 1.96 (d, J=5.3 Hz, 1H), 2.10 (d, J=1.0 Hz, 3H), 2.27 (m, 1H), 2.29 (s, 3H), 2.42 (m, 1H), 3.96 (d, J=7.1 Hz, 1H), 4.17 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 4.29 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 4.49 (dd, J=10.0, 6.9 Hz, 1H), 4.85 (m, 1H), 4.94 (dd, J=9.6, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 5.63 (s, 1H), 5.64 (d, 6.75 Hz, 1H), 7.47 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 2H), 7.59 (dd, J=7.8, 7.7 Hz, 1H)8.11 (d J=7.8, 2H).

EXAMPLE 29 DOCETAXEL

Starting with 10-DAB, the C(7) and C(10) hydroxy groups were protected using 1,3-dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane (i.e., the bridging silicon-based protecting group of Formula (4) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, L₁ and L₂ are chloro, Z is —O—); cyclic intermediate (29) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—) resulted in 95% yield after recrystallization from ethyl acetate and heptane. The coupling of intermediate (29) and β-lactam side chain precursor (36) wherein P₂ is MOP was carried out under kinetic resolution using LHMDS and 3 equivalents of the racemic (36); intermediate (410) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, P₂ is MOP, Z is —O—) resulted in 90% yield after recrystallization from dichloromethane and heptane. Simple dilute hydrochloric acid deprotection gave docetaxel in 75% yield after recrystallization from isopropanol and heptane.

EXAMPLE 30 2′-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-DOCETAXEL

7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (0.67 g, 0.99 mmol) and cis-N-t-butoxy-3-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (1.0 g, 3 eq) was dissolved in anhydrous THF (5 mL) under nitrogen then cooled to −45° C. LHMDS (1.2 mL, 1.1 eq) 1.0 M in THF was added drop-wise to control the exotherm. The reaction was allowed to proceed at ≦−35° C. for 2 to 5 h. The reaction was quenched with a solution of acetic acid (1.2 eq) in ethyl acetate (25 mL), washed with sodium bicarbonate (5 mL) and brine (5 mL), dried over sodium sulfate (7 g), filtered through silica (7 g), and concentrated. The residue was taken up in a minimal amount of dichloromethane (1 mL) containing 1% triethylamine and added to heptane (15 mL) to triturate out the excess β-lactam. The product (0.88 g, 88%) as a single diastereomer was collected by Buchner funnel and washed with heptane. Mp: 235 to 238° C., ¹H NMR (MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.07 (s, 3H), 0.08 (s, 3H), 0.12 (s, 3H), 0.41 (s, 3H), 1.08 (s, 3H), 1.12 (s, 3H), 1.25 (s, 3H), 1.30 (s, 3H), 1.32 (s, 9H), 1.53 (s, 1H), 1.67 (s, 3H), 1.90 (bs, 3H), 1.92 (m, 1H), 2.07 (m, 1H), 2.30 (m, 2H), 2.50 (s, 3H), 2.66 (bs, 3H), 3.84 (d, J=6.9 Hz, 1H), 4.22 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 4.32 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 1H), 4.48 (dd, J=9.9, 6.4 Hz, 1H), 4.50 (d, J=3.3 Hz, 1H), 4.95 (m, J=8.6, 1H), 5.22 (bm, 1H), 5.49 (bm,1H), 5.57 (s, 1H), 5.65 (d, J=6.9 Hz, 1H), 6.24 (bm, 1H), 7.24 (m, 1H), 7.30 (d, J=7.2, 2H), 7.37 (dd, J=7.2, 7.2, 2H), 7.51 (dd, J=8.0, 7.5 Hz, 2H), 7.60 (dd, J=8.0, 7.2 Hz, 1H), 8.11 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H). The flexible side chain proton chemical shifts exhibit drifting dependent on level of water in the CDCl₃ solvent.

EXAMPLE 31 DOCETAXEL

2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel (38.38 g, 38.2 mmol) in acetonitrile (580 mL) then 0.2 M HCl (115 mL) was added and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature (22° C. to 25° C.) for 2 to 3 h until complete conversion to the product (R_(f)=0.15) was observed via TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate:heptane). The product mixture then was diluted with ethyl acetate (580 mL) and washed with water (290 mL), brine (150 mL), saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate (290 mL), brine (200 mL) and dried over sodium sulfate (60 g). The mixture was filtered through silica gel (30 g) and the filter cake was rinsed with ethyl acetate (350 mL). The combined filtrate was concentrated to approximately 192 mL followed by addition of heptane (550 mL) to induce crystallization. The mixture was further concentrated to remove approximately 200 mL of solvent. The mixture was cooled to ambient temperature, the crystals were collected via vacuum filtration through a Buchner funnel, and the crystals were dried to a constant weight of 30.57 g (99.3% yield) at 98.3% HPLC purity. mp: 186 to 188° C., EA: % C: theory 63.93, found 63.38, % H: theory 6.61, found 6.59. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 1.13 (s, 3H, H-17), 1.24 (s, 3H, H-16), 1.34 (s, 9H, H-t-Boc), 1.64 (s, 1H, HO-1), 1.76 (s, 3H, H-19), 1.85 (s, 3H, H-18), 1.79 to 1.88 (m, 1H, H-6), 2.27 (m, J=8.8 Hz, 2H, H-14), 2.38 (s, 3H, Ac-4), 2.60(m, 1H, H-6), 3.32 (bd, J=4.8 Hz,1H, HO-2′), 3.92 (d, J=6.9 Hz,1H, H-3), 4.18 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H, H-20), 4.19 (bs, 1H, HO-10), 4.23 (m, 1H, H-7), 4.32 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H, H-20), 4.62 (bm, 1H, H-2′), 4.94 (m, 1H, H-5), 5.20 (bd, J=1.7 Hz, H-10), 5.26 (bm, 1H, H-3′), 5.40 (bd, J=9.6 Hz, H—N), 5.68 (d, J=6.9 Hz, 1H, H-2), 6.22 (bm, 1H, H-13), 7.29 to 7.4 (m, 5H, H—Ph), 7.50 (dd, J=7.9, 7.6 Hz, 2H, H-mBz), 7.62 (dd, J=7.25, 7.6 Hz, 1H-pBz), 8.10 (d, J=7.9 Hz, 2H, H-oBz). Conformed to Literature References: (a) Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals, 2004; 47:763-777; and (b) Tetrahedron, 1989, 45:13, pp 4177-4190.

EXAMPLE 32 2′-(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-DOCETAXEL

7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (4.29 g, 6.4 mmol) and N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl azetidin-2-one (6.4 g, 19.1 mmol) were dissolved in anhydrous THF (43 mL) under nitrogen and then cooled to 45° C. LHMDS (1.2 mL, 1.1 eq, 1.0 M in THF) was added drop-wise to control the exotherm. The reaction was allowed to proceed at ≦−45° C. for 5 h. The reaction was quenched with a solution of acetic acid (1.2 eq) in ethyl acetate (50 mL), washed with sodium bicarbonate (10 mL) and brine (10 mL), dried over sodium sulfate (10 g), filtered through silica (10 g), and concentrated to give a solid. The solid was recrystallized from methanol to give 3.6 g (55%) of white powder as a single diastereomer after drying under vacuum (<1 mmHg) and ambient temperature. mp: 248 to 250° C., ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ: −0.12 (s, 9H), 0.08 (s, 3H), 0.09 (s, 3H), 0.12 (s, 3H), 0.42 (s, 3H), 1.12 (s, 3H), 1.27 (s, 3H), 1.31 (s, 9H), 1.54 (s, 1H), 1.68 (s, 3H), 1.88 (s, 3H), 1.86 to 1.96 (m, 1H), 2.08 to 2.18 (m, 1H), 2.26 to 2.43 (m, 2H), 2.54 (s, 3H), 3.85 (d, J=7.2 Hz, 1H), 4.24 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 4.32 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 4.45 (bs, 1H), 4.50 (dd, J=6.8, 10.3 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (m, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 5.29 (m, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 5.52 (bm, J=8.5 Hz, 1H), 5.57 (s, 1H), 5.66 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 1H), 6.31 (bt, J=8.6 Hz, 1H), 7.3 to 7.41 (m, 5H), 7.48 (dd, J=6.9, 8.4 Hz, 2H,) 7.59 (dd, J=6.9, 7.5, 1H), 8.12 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H).

EXAMPLE 33 2′-(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-DOCETAXEL

To a solution of 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (0.84 g, 1.24 mmol) in THF (10 mL) at 45° C. under nitrogen was added 1.0 M butyllithium (0.93 mL) in hexanes. After 30 min at this temperature, a solution of (+)-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl azetidin-2-one (0.5 g, 1.5 mmol) in THF (2 mL) was added and the mixture was stirred and warmed to 0° C. over 4 h. The reaction was quenched with triethylamine (1 eq) and acetic acid (1 eq), diluted with 25 mL of heptane, and filtered through silica gel (30 g). The filtrate was concentrated by rotary evaporation to give white crystals (0.69 g, 55%) ¹HNMR of the crude product conformed to the structure of 2′-(trimethylsilyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel.

EXAMPLE 34 DEPROTECTION OF 2′-(TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-DOCETAXEL

To a solution of 2′-(trimethylsilyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel (0.5 g, 0.495 mmol) in acetonitrile (2.5 mL) at ambient temperature was added a solution of 0.2 M HCl and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature (22° C. to 25° C.) for 2 to 3 h until complete conversion to the product (R_(f)=0.15) was observed via TLC (3:1 ethyl acetate:heptane). The mixture then was diluted with ethyl acetate (5 mL) and washed with water (2 mL), brine (2 mL), saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate (2 mL), brine (2 mL) and dried over sodium sulfate (6 g). The mixture was filtered through silica gel (5 g) and the filter cake was rinsed with ethyl acetate (5 mL). The combined filtrate was concentrated to approximately 1 mL and heptane (5 mL) was added to induce crystallization. The mixture then was concentrated to remove approximately 1-2 mL of solvent. The mixture was cooled to ambient temperature before the crystals were collected via vacuum filteration through a Buchner funnel and dried to a constant weight of 0.399 g (93% yield) of a crystalline product with HNMR spectra that conformed to Docetaxel.

In order of maximize the recovery of Docetaxel it was discovered that purification of the intermediate 2′-(trimethylsilyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel was unnecessary when optically pure (+)-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl azetidin-2-one was used.

EXAMPLE 35 DOCETAXEL

To an oven dried 25 mL round bottom flask (RBF) under nitrogen equipped with magnetic stirring was added diisopropylamine (0.83 mL, 5.86 mmol) and THF (1.5 mL). The mixture was cooled to −45° C. and a solution of n-hexyl lithium (2.33 mL, 2.30 M, 5.37 mmol) was added drop-wise to control the exotherm and maintain the reactor temperature at <−40° C. After the addition was completed, the cooling bath temperature was raised to 0-5° C. before use.

Coupling reaction: To an oven dried 250 mL RBF under nitrogen equipped with magnetic stirring was added 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (3.29 g, 4.88 mmol), and THF (30 mL). The mixture was cooled to 45° C. The already prepared LDA was added to the reaction mixture via syringe in a period of 5 minutes and stirred at that temperature for 45 minutes. To this mixture was then added (+)-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-trimethylsilyloxy-4-phenyl azetidin-2-one (1.80 g (5.37 mmol) in THF (8 mL)). The reaction mixture was warmed up to −15° C. and stirred for one hour at −15 to −10° C. TLC monitoring of the reaction after one hour (1:3 ethyl acetate heptane) showed complete conversion to 2′-(trimethylsilyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel.

Work-up: To the reaction flask at reaction temperature was added 1 mL of saturated sodium bicarbonate and stirred for 5 minutes. It was then diluted by ethyl acetate (50 mL) and washed with 50 mL of brine. The organic layer was separated and dried over MgSO₄ and concentrated to give 5.10 g of crude 2′-(trimethylsilyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel that was used directly for deprotection. The above crude mixture was dissolved in acetonitrile (50 mL) and 0.2 N HCl (25 mL) was added and stirred at room temperature for four hours. TLC monitoring (3:1/EtOAc:heptane) showed the completion of the reaction. The reaction mixture was diluted by ethyl acetate (100 mL) and washed twice with distilled water (50 mL), saturated sodium bicarbonate (50 mL) and brine (50 mL). The resulting organic layer was dried over MgSO₄ and concentrated to give 3.76 g (95.3% yield) of Docetaxel with 96.5% HPLC purity with the major impurity as undesilylated (1.6%) intermediate at the C(7)-hydroxy group.

EXAMPLE 36 PACLITAXEL

Starting with 10-DAB, the C(7) and C(10) hydroxy groups were protected using 1,3-dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane (i.e., the bridging silicon-based protecting group of Formula (4), wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, L₁ and L₂ are chloro, Z is —O—); cyclic intermediate (29) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—) resulted in 95% yield after recrystallization from ethyl acetate and heptane. Intermediate (29) was treated with (+)-N-benzoyl-4-phenyl-3-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-azetidin-2-one (i.e., β-lactam (16) wherein P₂ is MOP) (1.1 equivalents) in the presence of LHMDS (1.1 equivalents) at −45° C. to −10° C. for 3 hours to produce compound (210) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—, and P₂ is MOP). Compound (210) was crystallized from ethyl acetate (85% yield, 98% pure). Compound (210) was treated with methanol and a catalytic amount of NaHCO₃ at room temperature for 20 hours to yield compound (211) wherein P₂ is MOP, which is subsequently crystallized from a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and heptane (75-80% yield, 97% pure). Compound (211) was treated with acetyl chloride (1.05 equivalents) and LHMDS (1.1 equivalents) at −45° C. for 30 minutes to yield a crude mixture that is 96% pure. Upon crystallization from isopropanol, a C(10)-acetylated compound was produced in 85-90% yield and 97% pure. The compound was then treated with 0.2 M HCl in acetonitrile at room temperature for 2 hours to produce paclitaxel that was crystallized from methanol.

EXAMPLE 37 PREPARATION OF PACLITAXEL

Starting with 10-DAB (23), the C(7) and C(10) hydroxy groups were protected using 1,3-dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane (i.e., the bridging silicon-based protecting group of Formula (4), wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, L₁ and L₂ are chloro, Z is —O—); cyclic intermediate (29) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—) resulted in 95% yield after recrystallization from ethyl acetate and heptane. Intermediate (29) was treated with methanol and a catalytic amount of Na₂CO₃ at room temperature for 20 minutes to produce compound (212) wherein R_(10A), G₁, G₂, G₃ and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—). Compound (212) was crystallized from ethyl acetate (75% yield, 97% pure). Compound (212) was then treated with acetyl chloride (1.02 equivalents) and LHMDS (1.1 equivalents) for 30 minutes. Without isolation of the intermediate, the 10-acetyl derivative (220) wherein R_(10A), G₁, G₂, G₃ and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—) was treated with (+)-N-benzoyl-4-phenyl-3-(2-methyoxy-2-propoxy)-azetidin-2-one (i.e., β-lactam (16) wherein P₂ is MOP) (1.1 equivalents) in the presence of LHMDS (1.1 equivalents) at 45 to −10° C. for 3 hours to produce compound (221) wherein G₁, G₂, G₃ and G₄ are methyl, Z is —O—, and P₂ is MOP) in 85% yield and 94% purity. Compound (221) was then treated with 0.2 M HCl in acetonitrile at room temperature for 2 hours to produce paclitaxel that was crystallized from ethyl acetate and heptane.

EXAMPLE 38 2′-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-PACLITAXEL

To a THF (200 mL) solution of 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (12.1 g, 17.93 mmol) and (+)-cis-N-benzoyl-3-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (6.69 g, 19.7 mmol) under nitrogen and magnetic stirring at −45° C. was added a 1.0 M THF solution of LHMDS (19.7 mL, 19.7 mmol) over 15 minutes. The temperature of the reaction was warmed to −10° C. and stirred at this temperature until TLC analysis (1:1 ethyl acetate:hexane) showed complete disappearance of 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB. The reaction mixture was quenched with acetic acid (1.182 g, 19.7 mmol), diluted with ethyl acetate (200 mL), and warmed to ambient temperature. The mixture was washed with brine and dried over sodium sulfate. The drying agent was removed by vacuum filtration and the filtrate was concentrated to give a solid. The solid was dissolved in hot ethyl acetate (450 mL) and reduced to half volume under rotary evaporation at 25 to 30° C. to induce crystal formation then cooled in a 0° C. bath for 1 h. The white crystals were collected by vacuum filtration, washed with cold 1:1 ethyl acetate:hexanes solution, and dried to a constant weight of 15.2 g (84% yield). ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.07 (s, 3H), 0.08 (s, 3H), 0.12 9 (s,3H), 0.42 (s, 3H), 1.11(s, 3H), 1.13 (s, 3H), 1.23 (s, 3H), 1.34 (s, 3H), 1.61 (s, 1H), 1.68 (s, 3H), 1.91 (d, J=1.10 Hz), 1.92 (m, 1H), 2.07 (dd, 15.1, 8.92 Hz. 1H), 2.24 to 2.36 (m, 2H), 2.53 (s, 3H), 2.78 (s, 3H), 3.84 9d, J=7.0 Hz), 4.25 (d, J=8.75 Hz, 1H), 4.23 (d, J=8.75 Hz), 4.49 (dd, J=10.48, 6.72 Hz, 1H), 4.65 (d, J=3.23 Hz), 1H), 4.95 (dd, J=9.56, 2.47 Hz, 1H), 5.56 (s, 1H), 5.62 (dd, J=8.01, 3.08 Hz, 1H), 5.66 (d, J=7.23 Hz, 1H), 6.24 (t, J=8.60, 1H), 7.18 (d, J=8.03 Hz), 7.24 to 7.54 (m, 10H), 7.60 (m, 1H), 7.78 (d, J=7.88 Hz, 2H), 8.12 m, 2H).

EXAMPLE 39 2′-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-7-O-(1-METHOXY-1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANYL)-10-HYDROXY PACLITAXEL

Sodium Bicarbonate Methanolysis: To a solution of 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-paclitaxel (5.0 g, 4.93 mmol) in anhydrous methanol (250 mL) was added sodium bicarbonate (0.5 g, 5.95 mmol) and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) under nitrogen for 2 days; TLC analysis (30:70 ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated that conversion to a more polar product was complete. Triethylamine (2 g, 19.7 mmol) and acetic acid (0.4 g, 6.7 mmol) was added and the methanol was removed under reduced pressure rotary evaporation to give a solid residue. The solid was taken up in isopropanol (75 mL) followed by heptane (75 mL) addition. The mixture then was concentrated to approximately half volume under reduced pressure rotary evaporation to induce crystal formation at 40° C. The mixture was cooled to ambient temperature (20 to 22° C.) and the crystals (3.6 g, 70% yield) were harvested.

Triethylamine-Methanolysis: To a solution of 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-paclitaxel (100 mg, 0.1 mmol) in anhydrous methanol (5 mL) under nitrogen was added triethylamine (0.014 mL) and the mixture stirred for 12 h at ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) until TLC (30:70 ethyl acetate:hexane) analysis showed complete conversion to the lower R_(f) product. Heptane (5 mL) was added and the mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure evaporation at 40° C. to approximately half-volume to induce crystal formation. Cooling the mixture to ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) and 90 mg (88% yield) of the crystals were harvested. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.083 (s, 3H), 0.088 (s, 3H), 0.11 (s, 3H), 0.12 (s, 3H), 1.11 (s, 3H), 1.12 (s, 3H), 1.22 (s, 3H), 1.34 (s, 3H), 1.70 (s, 1H), 1.76 (s, 3H), 1.96 (d, J=1.10 Hz), 1.98 (m, 1H), 2.07 (dd, J=14.68, 8.66, 1H), 2.29 (dd, J=15.05, 9,41, 1H), 2.49 (m, 1H), 2.52 (s, 3H), 2.79 (m, 3H), 3.47 (s, 3H), 3.91 (d, J=7.52, 1H), 4.23 (d, J=8.97, 1H), 4.27 (d, J=1.95 Hz, 1H), 4.33 (d, J=8.97, 1H), 4.47 (dd, J=10.51, 6.6 Hz, 1H), 4.65 (d, J=3.13 Hz, 1H), 4.95 (dd, J=9.8, 1.75 Hz, 1H), 5.13 (d, J=1.95 Hz, 1H), 5.60 (dd, J=7.99, 3.19 Hz, 1H), 5.68 (d, J=7.19 Hz, 1H), 6.25 (t, J=9.27 Hz, 1H), 7.18 (d, J=8.03 Hz), 7.24 to 7.54 (m, 10H), 7.60 (m, 1H), 7.78 (d, J=7.88 Hz, 2H), 8.12 m, 2H).

EXAMPLE 40 7-O-(1-METHOXY-1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANYL)-10-DAB

Triethylamine-methanolysis: To 1 g (1.48 mmol) of 7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB was added 20 mL of anhydrous methanol. The solution was allowed to stir until homogeneous (about 10 minutes). The flask was charged with 1 equivalent of triethylamine (TEA, 1.48 mmol, 206 mL) and allowed to stir for approximately 23 hours. Reaction completion was monitored with TLC (1:1 ethyl acetate:hexanes). Upon completion, the solution was diluted with about 15 mL heptane and evaporated until all the methanol was removed. Crystals formed on evaporation and were allowed to stir for 2 hours. Crystals were filtered and washed with heptane to yield 948 mg (90.6% yield) of a white solid. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.085 (s, 3H), 0.099 (s, 3H), 0.120 (s, 3H), 0.0123 (s, 3H), 1.09 (overlap, 2-s (6H), 1.75 (s, 3H), 1.93 (m, 1H), 1.97 (d, J=5.07 Hz, 1H), 2.09 (d, J=1.22 Hz, 3H), 2.27 (m, 1H), 2.28 (s, 3H), 2.55 (m, 1H), 3.48 (s, 3H), 3.98 (d, J=6.86 Hz, 1H), 4.18 (d, J=8.14 Hz, 1H), 4.25 (d, J=2.03 Hz, 1H), 4.31 (d, J=8.14 Hz, 1H), 4.49 (dd, J=10.91, 6.71 Hz, 1H), 4.88 (dd, 17.60, 7.48 Hz, 1H), 4.95 (dd, J=9.49, 1.79 Hz, 1H), 5.18 (d, J=2.03, 1H), 5.62 (d, J=6.94 Hz, 1H), 7.48(t, J=7.7-Hz, 2H), 7.60 (m, J=7.7 Hz, 1H), 8.11 (m, 2H).

EXAMPLE 41 2′-(2-METHOXY-2-PROPOXY)-7-O-(1-METHOXY-1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANYL)-PACLITAXEL

To a solution of 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7-O-(1-methoxy-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxy)-10-hydroxy paclitaxel (2.62 g, 2.5 mmol) in anhydrous THF (22 mL) at −45° C. under magnetic stirring and nitrogen was added a THF 1.0 M solution of LHMDS (2.9 mL, 2.9 mmol) followed by acetyl chloride (0.275 mL, 2.88 mmol). The mixture was stirred at −45° C. for 1 h when TLC analysis (30:70 ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated conversion to a less polar product (R_(f)=0.5). The reaction was quenched with acetic acid (0.173 g, 2.88 mmol), diluted with ethyl acetate (50 mL), washed with brine, and dried over sodium sulfate. Removal the drying agent and concentration of the filtrate gave 2.6 g of a solid (95% HPLC purity).

One-pot C(10)-Hydroxy Acetylation and C(13) Side Chain Coupling: To a solution of 7-O-(1-methoxy-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxy)-10-DAB (3.24 g, 4.58 mmol) in anhydrous THF (40 mL) at 45° C. under magnetic stirring and nitrogen was added 5 mL of a 1.0 M solution of LHMDS in THF (5 mmol) followed by acetyl chloride (AcCl, 0.335 mL, 4.7 mmol). The reaction progress was monitored via ¹HNMR analysis for the disappearance of the C(10)-carbinol resonance at 5.18 ppm in CDCl₃ after 15 min. Once the acetylation was shown to be complete, a second equivalent of the 1.0 M solution of LHMDS in THF (5 mL, 5 mmol) was added followed by solid (+)-cis-N-benzoyl-3-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one. The temperature was raised to −10° C. and the conversion to the less polar product 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7-O-(1-methoxy-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxy)-paclitaxel was monitored via TLC (30:70 ethyl acetate:hexanes). After 3 h, the reaction mixture was quenched with acetic acid (0.3 g, 5 mmol) and diluted with ethyl acetate (200 mL) and warmed to ambient temperature. The mixture was washed with brine and dried over sodium sulfate. The drying agent was removed by vacuum filtration and the filtrate was concentrated to give a solid residue. Trituration of the residue with heptane (100 mL) gave 4.2 g of the product (94% HPLC purity). ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.059 (s, 3H), 0.092 (s, 6H), 0.20 (s, 3H), 1.13 (s 3H), 1.20 (s, 3H), 1.22 (s, 3H), 1.33 (s, 3H), 1.71 (s, 3H), 1.96 (m, 1H), 1.98 (d, J=1.0), 2.10 (dd, J=15.74, 9.18 Hz, 1H), 2.17 (s, 3H), 2.31 (dd, J=15.57, 9.36 Hz, 1H), 2.53 (s, 3H), 2.58 (m, 1H), 2.78 (s, 3H), 3.46 (s, 3H), 3.88 (d, J=7.06 Hz, 1H), 4.21 (d, J=8.53, 1H), 4.32 (d, J=8.53, 1H), 4.54 (dd, J=10.23, 6.62 Hz, 1H), 4.66 (d, J=3.19 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (bd, J=9.80 Hz, 1H), 5.31 (bs, 1H), 5.62 (dd, J=8.28, 3.20 Hz, 1H), 5.71 (d, J=6.99 Hz, 1H), 6.20 (bt, J=9.03 Hz, 1H), 6.41 (s, 1H), 7.17 (d, J=8.12 Hz, 1H), 7.24 to 7.54 (m, 10H), 7.60 (m, 1H), 7.78 (d, J=7.88 Hz, 2H), 8.12 m, 2H).

EXAMPLE 42 PACLITAXEL

To a solution of 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7-O-(1-methoxy-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanyl)-paclitaxel (1.6 g, 97% purity, 1.47 mmol) in acetonitrile (12 mL) at ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) under magnetic stirring and nitrogen was added a 0.2 M solution of HCl (3 mL, 0.6 mmol). After 3 h, TLC monitoring (3:1 ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated complete conversion to desired product Paclitaxel. The mixture was quenched with triethylamine (0.121 g, 1.2 mmol) and the solvent was removed under rotary evaporation. The residue was taken up in ethyl acetate (20 mL), washed with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate and brine, and dried over sodium sulfate. The drying agent was filtered off and the filtrate concentrated and solvent exchanged with heptane (20 mL) to give a white powder. The powder was collected via vacuum filtration, washed with heptane, and dried to a constant weight of 1.2 g (1.40 mmol, 95% yield at 97% purity). ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 1.14 (s, 3H), 1.24 (s, 3H), 1.68 (s, 3H), 1.79 (d, J=0.9 Hz, 3H), 1.88 (m, 1H), 2.23 (s, 3H), 2.28 (m, 1H), 2.35 (m,1H), 2.38 (s, 3H), 2.48 (d, J=3.31, 1H), 2.54 (m, 1H), 2.79 (d, J=7.13 Hz, 1H), 4.19 (d, J=8.53, 1H), 4.30 (d, J=8.53 Hz, 1H), 4.40 (m, 1H), 4.78 (dd, J=5.29, 2.65 Hz, 1H), 4.94 (dd, J=9.45, 2.3 Hz, 1H), 5.16 (bs, 1H), 5.67 (d, J=7.02 Hz, 1H), 5.78 (dd, J=8.78, 2.50 Hz, 1H), 6.22 (bt, J=9.0 Hz, 1H) 6.26 (s, 3H), 6.97 (d, J=8.68, 1H), 7.32 to 7.53 (m, 10H), 7.61 (m, 1H), 7.73 (m, 2H), 8.12 (m, 2H).

EXAMPLE 43 2′-(BENZOYLOXY)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYL-1,3-DISILOXANEDIYL)-DOCETAXEL

To a solution of 2′-(2-methoxy-2-propoxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel (5.0 g, 4.95 mmol) in anhydrous THF (25 mL) under nitrogen and magnetic stirring was added cerium trichloride heptahydrate (CeCl₃.7H₂O, 0.274 g, 0.735 mmol). The mixture was stirred at ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) for 30 min when TLC (40:60 Ethyl acetate:hexanes) analysis showed complete loss of the 2-methoxy-2-propyl (MOP) protecting group to give a more polar intermediate (R_(f)=0.4) relative to the starting material (R_(f)=0.5). To the reaction mixture was added benzoic anhydride (1.6 g, 7.4 mmol); it was allowed to stir at ambient temperature over 12 h when TLC (40:60 Ethyl acetate:hexanes) analysis showed complete conversion to the less polar product (R_(f)=0.6). The mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (100 mL), washed twice with saturated sodium bicarbonate (2×50 mL), then brine (25 mL), dried over sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated by rotary evaporation to give a residue. The residue was further purified by flash silica gel column chromatography (1:2 ethyl acetate:hexanes) to remove the unreacted benzoic anhydride. Pulling and concentration of the clean fractions gave the desired product (4.91 g, 95% yield).

7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-10-DAB (1.66 g, 2.47 mmol) was taken up in 35 mL of anhydrous THF and stirred until homogeneous. The solution was cooled to −45° C. in an acetonitrile/dry ice bath. The solution was then deprotonated with 2.27 mL of LHMDS (1M in THF, 1.1 equivalents) and stirred for approximately 15 minutes. (+)-Cis-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-benzoyloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one (1.0 g, 2.72 mmol) was added as a solid to the mixture and stirred for 5 hours. The temperature was allowed to warm to −30° C. over the course of the 5 hours. After about 3.5 hours, more β-lactam (10%, 100 mg) was added along with more LHMDS (10%, 272 mL) to push the reaction to completion. The reaction stopped with about 5% unreacted 7,10-protected 10-DAB remaining. The reaction was quenched with 1.2 eq of acetic acid (169 mL) and 1.5 eq Triethylamine (515 mL) that was premixed in 10 mL of THF. The organic layer was diluted with about 30 mL of ethyl acetate and washed twice with 15 mL of brine. The solvent was removed on a rotary evaporator and 2.9 g of a crude foam were retrieved. A flash column was employed to clean the product using a solvent system of 1:1 ethyl acetate/hexanes. 2.11g (82.1% yield) of clean product were recovered. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 0.073 (s, 3H), 0.085 (s, 3H), 0.13 (s, 3H), 0.41 (s, 3H), 1.11 (s, 3H), 1.23 (s, 3H), 1.35 (s, 9H), 1.66 (s, 3H), 1.91 (m, 1H), 1.97 (s, 3H), 2.08 (m, 1H), 2.29(m, 2H), 2.44 (s, 3H), 3.84 (d, J=6.93, 1H), 4.21 (d, J=8.53, 1H), 4.30 (d, J=8.53), 4.50 (dd, J=10.58, 6.58 Hz, 1H), 4.95 (dd, J=9.78, 2.38 Hz, 1H), 5.43 (bd, J=9.26 Hz, 1H), 5.49 (bd, J=3.09 Hz, 1H), 5.57 (bs, 1H), 5.59 (s, 1H), 5.65 (d, J=7.22 Hz, 1H), 6.27 (bt, J=8.97 Hz, 1H), 7.28 (m, 1H), 7.35 to 7.54 (m, 8H), 7.60 (m, 2H), 7.99 (d, J=7.68 Hz, 2H), 8.10 (d, 7.68, 2H).

(+)-Cis-N-t-butoxycarbonyl-3-benzoyloxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one was obtained by reaction of (+)-cis-3-hydroxy-4-phenyl-azetidin-2-one with benzoic anhydride and t-butoxycarbonyl anhydride and isolated as a crystalline solid. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 1.44 (s, 9H), 5.37 (d, J=5.42 Hz, 1H), 6.18 (s, J=5.42 Hz, 1H), 7.18 to 7.34 (m, 7H), 7.49 (bt, 1H), 7.66 (bd, 2H).

EXAMPLE 44 2′-BENZOYLOXY DOCETAXEL

It was found that benzoylation of Docetaxel was selective at the C(2′) hydroxy position under benzoyl chloride-pyridine conditions. To a solution of Docetaxel (1.62 g, 2 mmol) in pyridine (10 mL) was added benzoyl chloride (0.394 g, 2.8 mmol) and the mixture was stirred and kept at <−25° C. over a 12 h period. TLC analysis (75:25 ethyl acetate:hexanes) showed approximately 80% conversion to a less polar major product (R_(f)=0.5) relative to the starting material (R_(f)=0.3). The mixture was quenched with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, extracted with ethyl acetate (50 mL), washed with brine, dried over sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated to give a residue. Purification by silica gel flash column chromatography to remove the starting material eluting with 60:40 ethyl acetate:hexanes and collecting the clean fraction gave 1.28 g (71%) of 2′-benzoyloxy-Docetaxel after concentration and drying.

To a solution of 2′-(benzoyloxy)-7,10-O-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl)-docetaxel (1.0 g, 0.95 mmol) in acetonitrile (3 mL) at ambient 22 to 25° C. temperature was added a 0.2 M solution of HCl (2 mL, 0.2 mmol). After stirring for 2 h, TLC analysis (1:1 ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated that complete conversion to the more polar product (R_(f)=0.15) relative to the starting material (R_(f)=0.45) was achieved. The reaction was quenched with triethylamine (0.5 g, 0.49 mmol) and concentrated to remove the acetonitrile solvent. The residue was taken up in ethyl acetate (20 mL), washed with saturated sodium bicarbonate, brine, dried with sodium sulfate, and filtered; the filtrate was concentrated and solvent exchanged with heptane to give 0.78 g (90% yield) of the product. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 1.12 (s, 3H), 1.22 (s, 3H), 1.35 (s, 9H), 1.75 (s, 3H), 1.85 (m, 1H), 1.98 (bs, 3H), 2.12 (m, 1H), 2.28 (m, 1H), 2.43 (s, 3H), 2.60 (m, 1H), 3.95 (d, J=7.06, 1H), 4.17 (d, J=1.46 Hz, 1H), 4.19 (d, J=8.61 hz, 1H), 4.26 (m, 1H), 4.32 (d, J=8.61 Hz, 1H), 4.96 (bdd, J=9.68, 2.27 Hz, 1H), 5.21 (bd, J=1.46 hz, 1H), 5.43 (bd, J=9.45 Hz, 1H), 5.54 (m, 2H), 5.69 (d, J=7.07, 1H), 6.25 (bt, J=8.91, 1H), 7.28 (m, 1H), 7.35 to 7.54 (m, 8H), 7.60 (m, 2H), 7.99 (d, J=7.68 Hz, 2H), 8.10 (d, 7.68, 2H).

EXAMPLE 45 2′-BENZOYLOXY-10-ACETOXY DOCETAXEL

To a solution of 2′benzoyloxy docetaxel (1.28 g, 1.4 mmol) in anhydrous THF (7 mL) under nitrogen was added cerium trichloride heptahydrate (CeCl₃.7H₂O, 0.128 g, 0.344 mmol), and acetic anhydride (0.285 g, 2.8 mmol) and the mixture was stirred at ambient temperature (22 to 25° C.) for 12 h. TLC analysis (60:40 ethyl acetate:hexanes) indicated the complete conversion to a less polar product (R_(f)=0.25) relative to the starting 2′-benzoyloxy docetaxel (R_(f)=0.15). The mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (20 mL), washed twice with saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate, brine, dried with sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated to give 1.42 g of a solid residue. Flash silica gel purification eluting with ethyl acetate:hexanes (45:55) gave 1.2 g (90% yield) of the desired 2′-benzoyloxy-10-acetoxy docetaxel. ¹H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃) δ (ppm): 1.14 (s, 3H), 1.25 (s, 3H), 1.34 (s, 9H), 1.67 (s, 3H), 1.89 (m, 1H), 1.97 (bs, 3H), 2.12 (m, 1H), 2.24 (s, 3H), 2.28 (m, 1H), 2.44 (s, 3H), 2.51 (d, 4.10 Hz, 1H), 2.57 (m, 1H), 3.82 (d, J=7.12 Hz, 1H), 4.17 (d, J=8.50 Hz, 1H)), 4.31 (d, J=8.50, 1H), 4.46 (m, 1H), 4.98 (dd, J=9.65, 2.16 Hz, 1H), 5.42 (bd, J=9.79, 1H), 5.50 (d, J=3.76 Hz, 1H), 5.57 (bm, 1H), 5.67 (d, J=7.10, 1H), 6.26 (bt, J=8.73 hz, 1H), 6.30 9s, 1H), 7.28 (m, 1H), 7.35 to 7.54 (m, 8H), 7.60 (m, 2H), 7.99 (d, J=7.68 Hz, 2H), 8.10 (d, 7.68, 2H).

EXAMPLE 46 PACLITAXEL

To a solution of 2′-benzoyloxy-10-acetoxy docetaxel (0.50 g, 0.524 mmol) and acetonitrile (1 mL) was added 90% aqueous formic acid (2 mL) and the mixture was stirred at ambient 22 to 25° C. temperature over 16 h when TLC analysis (90:10, ethyl acetate:methanol) showed complete conversion to a more polar intermediate (R_(f)=0.35) relative to the starting material (R_(f)=0.75). The solvent and excess acid was removed by azeotropic evaporation with heptane (15 mL). The oily residue was taken up in dichloromethane (2 ml) and heptane (15 mL) and concentrated to give a white powder. The powder was taken up in dichloromethane (5 mL) and triethylamine (2 mL) to induce the benzoyl migration from the oxygen on C2′ to the 3′N to give crude Paclitaxel. Purification by silica gel flash column chromatography (60:40 ethyl acetate:hexanes) and pulling and evaporating the clean fractions gave 0.277 g of Paclitaxel. ¹HNMR of the purified Paclitaxel was identical to a previously known sample. Furthermore, racemic β-lactam was used instead of the optically active enantiomer thus eliminating costly enzyme reagents.

As illustrated in the above examples, using 10-DAB and a β-lactam side chain precursor, paclitaxel and docetaxel were prepared in high yield. This is highlighted by the novel use of a bridging silicon-based protecting group which was easily removed as compared to other protecting groups. Other analogous bridging silicon-based protecting groups gave similar yields of the 7,10-protected 10-DAB derivatives, including those listed in Table 4. TABLE 4 Formula Name Structure 1,5-dichlorohexamethyltrisiloxane

1,3-dichloro-1,3-diphenyl-1,3-dimethyldisiloxane

1,3-dichlorotetraphenyldisiloxane

1,3-divinyl-1,3-dimethyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane

1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane

1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)ethane 

1. A process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising: (a) protecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-deacetylbaccatin III (10-DAB) with a bridging silicon-based protecting group to form 10-DAB derivative (12); (b) derivatizing 10-DAB derivative (12) to form 10-DAB derivative (17), the derivatization comprising: (i) treating 10-DAB derivative (12) with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form 10-DAB derivative (13), selectively deprotecting the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (13) with an alcohol in the presence of a base to form 10-DAB derivative (14), and acetylating the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (14) to form 10-DAB derivative (17), or (ii) selectively deprotecting the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (12) with an alcohol in the presence of a base to form 10-DAB derivative (15), acetylating the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (15) to form 10-DAB derivative (16), and treating 10-DAB derivative (16) with a β-lactam side chain precursor to form 10-DAB derivative (17), and (c) deprotecting 10-DAB derivative (17) to form paclitaxel; wherein 10-DAB derivative (12), 10-DAB derivative (13), 10-DAB derivative (14), 10-DAB derivative (15), 10-DAB derivative (16), and 10-DAB derivative (17), correspond to Formulae (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), and (17), respectively:

the bridging silicon-based protecting group corresponds to Formula (2);

the β-lactam side chain precursor corresponds to Formula (3B):

G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo; L₁ and L₂ are independently amine, halide, or sulfonate leaving groups; R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group; Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and n is 1 or
 2. 2. A process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising: (a) derivatizing 10-DAB (28) to form 10-DAB derivative (30) or 10-DAB derivative (32), the derivatization comprising: (i) selectively deprotecting the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (28) with an alcohol in the presence of a base to form 10-DAB derivative (29), and acetylating the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (29) to form 10-DAB derivative (30); or (ii) deprotecting the C(7) and the C(10) hydroxy groups of 10-DAB derivative (28) with a base to form 10-DAB derivative (31), and selectively acetylating the C(10) hydroxy group of 10-DAB derivative (31 ) to form 10-DAB derivative (32); and (b) converting 10-DAB derivative (30) or 10-DAB derivative (32) to paclitaxel, the conversion comprising (i) deprotecting 10-DAB derivative (30), the deprotection comprising removing the —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))— moiety attached to the C(7) hydroxy position and the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen position to form paclitaxel, or (ii) deprotecting 10-DAB derivative (32), the deprotection comprising removing the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen position to form paclitaxel; wherein 10-DAB derivative (28), 10-DAB derivative (29), 10-DAB derivative (30), 10-DAB derivative (31), and 10-DAB derivative (32) correspond to Formulae (28), (29), (30), (31), and (32), respectively:

G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocycle; R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group; Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and n is 1 or
 2. 3. A process for the preparation of paclitaxel, the process comprising: converting 10-DAB derivative (260) to paclitaxel, the conversion comprising: (a) removing the tert-butoxycarbonyl moiety from the 3′ nitrogen position of 10-DAB derivative (260) causing the benzoyl group attached to the C(2′) oxygen position to migrate to the 3′ nitrogen position; and (b) if present, removing the —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))— moiety from the C(7) hydroxy position of 10-DAB derivative (260); wherein 10-DAB derivative (260) corresponds to Formula (260):

R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—; R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo; Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and n is 1 or
 2. 4. A polycyclic fused ring compound corresponding to Formula (210):

wherein R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—; R₁₀ is hydrogen or acetyl; or R₇ and R₁₀ together form —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—; R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo; Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and n is 1 or
 2. 5. A polycyclic fused ring compound corresponding to Formula (280):

wherein R₇ is hydrogen or —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—O(R_(10A))—; R₁₀ is hydrogen or acetyl; or R₇ and R₁₀ together form —[Si(G₃)(G₄)]—Z—[Si(G₁)(G₂)]—; R_(10A) is hydrocarbyl; X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group; G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, or heterocyclo; Z is hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, heterocyclo, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; each Z₁₀ and Z₁₁ is independently hydrocarbyl; and n is 1 or
 2. 6. The process of claim 1 wherein Z is —(CH₂)_(y)—, —[(Z₁₂)—(Z₁₃)]_(k)—[(Z₁₄)]_(m)—, —[O—Si(Z₁₀)(Z₁₁)—]_(n)O—, or —O—; Z₁₂, Z₁₃, and Z₁₄ are each independently —(CH₂)_(y)— or a heteroatom, provided that at least one of Z₁₂ and Z₁₃ is a heteroatom; k is a positive integer from 1 to about 4; m is 0 or 1; n is 1 or 2; and y is a positive integer from 1 to about
 8. 7. The process of claim 6 wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, or cycloalkyl.
 8. The process of claim 7 wherein G₁, G₂, G₃, and G₄ are independently linear or branched alkyl or alkenyl having from about 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl having from about 1 to about 6 carbon atoms, or phenyl.
 9. The process of claim 6 wherein L₁ and L₂ are halide leaving groups.
 10. The process of claim 9 wherein L₁ and L₂ are chloro leaving groups.
 11. The process of claim 6 wherein L₁ and L₂ are amine leaving groups.
 12. The process of claim 6 wherein L₁ and L₂ are sulfonate leaving groups.
 13. The process of claim 1 wherein the bridging silicon-based protecting group is selected from the group consisting of 1,3-dichlorotetramethyldisiloxane; 1,5-dichlorohexamethyltrisiloxane; 1,7-dichlorooctamethyltetrasiloxane; 1,3-dichloro-1,3-diphenyl-1,3-dimethyldisiloxane; 1,3-dichlorotetraphenyldisiloxane; 1,3-divinyl-1,3-dimethyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane; 1,1,3,3-tetracyclopenyldichlorodisiloxane; 1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyl-1,3-dichlorodisiloxane; 1,2-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)ethane; 1,3-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)propane; 1,6-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)hexane; and 1,8-bis(chlorodimethylsilyl)octane.
 14. The process of claim 1 wherein the β-lactam side chain precursor is an optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam corresponding to Formula (300B):

wherein X₆ is a hydroxy protecting group.
 15. The process of claim 1 wherein X₆ is 2-methoxy-2-propyl (MOP).
 16. The process of claim 14 wherein the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam corresponding to Formula (300B) is prepared by a process comprising: (a) forming an N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8) by (i) reacting benzaldehyde with a disilazide to form an imine; and (ii) treating the imine with a ketene acetal to form the N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8), wherein the N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8) is present as an enantiomeric mixture; (b) resolving the enantiomeric mixture of N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8), the resolution comprising (i) removing the silyl moiety from the C(3) hydroxy group of the N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8); (ii) treating the enantiomeric mixture with an optically active proline acylating agent in the presence of an amine to form a product mixture, the product mixture containing first and second C(3)-ester substituted β-lactam diastereomers formed by the reaction of the first and second C(3)-hydroxy substituted β-lactam enantiomers, respectively, with the optically active proline acylating agent, the product mixture optionally also containing unreacted second C(3)-hydroxy β-lactam enantiomer, and (iii) separating the first C(3)-ester substituted β-lactam diastereomer from the unreacted second C(3)-hydroxy β-lactam enantiomer or the second C(3)-hydroxy substituted β-lactam diastereomer; and (c) derivatizing the unreacted second C(3)-hydroxy β-lactam enantiomer or the second C(3)-hydroxy substituted β-lactam diastereomer, the derivatization comprising: (i) introducing a hydroxy protecting group to the C(3) hydroxy group; and (ii) introducing a benzoyl group to the —NH moiety to form the optically active 3R, 4S (+) cis-β-lactam corresponding to Formula (300B); wherein the N-unsubstituted β-lactam (8) corresponds to Formula (8):

R₂₁, R₂₂, and R₂₃ are independently alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl. 